tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347Fri, 16 Mar 2018 07:26:02 +0000Local FoodFood EventRestaurant NewsBooks About FoodChef NewsRecipesFood HistoryWine TastingFood ShoppingFood TastingFood for AllOrganic FoodSustainable FoodGrowing FoodVegetarian FoodChristmasCooking ClassCharcutepaloozaCheese TastingBeer TastingSlow FoodTigress' Can JamFarmers Markets101 Uses for a Mason JarChocolateFood and ArtsValentine's DayFood MoviesJobsWhiskey TastingCook the BooksCooking with KidsFood and Beverage TrendsHappy April Fool's DayJC100Spirits TastingJonathan St. Roseguest postvideoRobbie BurnsThanksgivingEat locally. Blog globally.Toronto Tasting Notes: Exploring local food &amp; wine – tasting, testing, research, reviews &amp; jam.http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/noreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)Blogger622125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-5476749462729549719Tue, 07 Feb 2017 17:02:00 +00002017-02-07T12:02:04.073-05:00Food HistoryvideoHearth Cooking Lesson: The Bake KettleThis is a short video I shot at <a href="http://montgomerysinn.com/" target="_blank">Montgomery's Inn</a> with the help of volunteer historic cook Sherry Murphy, who's seen doing all the hard work. It shows how to use a bake kettle on an open hearth.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V-ZjhDPXOOY/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V-ZjhDPXOOY?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br /><br />Of course it takes a lot of practice to get the timing right. In <i>Roughing It In the Bush</i>,Upper Canada pioneer Susanna Moodie tells one of her rueful tales about the first time she tried to bake a loaf of bran bread in a bake kettle. "I did not understand the method of baking in these ovens," she writes. "It not only required experience to know when it was in a fit state for baking, but the oven should have been brought to a proper temperature to receive the bread."<br /><br />The result was that she burned the loaf outside, but it was still raw inside. It's easy to do. Luckily, Sherry has the knack.http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2017/02/hearth-cooking-lesson-bake-kettle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-2263527127676574238Sun, 05 Feb 2017 16:50:00 +00002017-02-05T11:50:50.406-05:00Growing FoodvideoA Visit to Berlo's Best Sweet Potato Factory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've been starting to play around with a video editing program. Here's an early effort, cobbled together from some images and video from a visit I took to a sweet potato farm.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bfmddSW4s_E/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bfmddSW4s_E?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2017/02/a-visit-to-berlos-best-sweet-potato.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-3595737942949920780Tue, 31 Jan 2017 18:45:00 +00002017-02-01T18:32:06.376-05:00East Meets West: A Fish Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Irv-Tp81XOM/WJDP7JqTiAI/AAAAAAAAFwI/dCkH_Nh2jncgQrYEUGTwVSHBSoEIPlKpACLcB/s1600/Fishing.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Irv-Tp81XOM/WJDP7JqTiAI/AAAAAAAAFwI/dCkH_Nh2jncgQrYEUGTwVSHBSoEIPlKpACLcB/s320/Fishing.tif" width="315" /></a></div><br />"<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet," wrote Rudyard Kipling. But east and west have been meeting in Canada for a very long time, not least over food. The following little anecdote from my mom, which illustrates this point, is my contribution to the January edition of the Culinary Historians of Canada's <a href="http://culinaryhistorians.ca/events/canada-150-food-blog-challenge-2017" target="_blank">Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge</a>&nbsp;(the theme for this month is fish and seafood).</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">My grandfather Dwight Mallory (pictured above with my grandmother Jeanne Mallory, née Putnam) was a dentist in Brockville, Ontario. Growing up in the nearby village of Lyn, he learned to shoot birds and fish for recreation, but also because it was a significant contribution to the family table.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">On one notable occasion in the 1930s, he caught a 13-pound pike from a small boat in the St. Lawrence River. That's a feat to brag about—as you will see if you Google "13 lb pike" and come up with images like the one below, caught by one <a href="http://www.startribune.com/fish-tales-blown-off-the-lake-one-day-but-big-scores-the-next/208392901/" target="_blank">Ernie DeBoer of Minnetonka</a>.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nJBY-rXTaNc/WJDSRycZz3I/AAAAAAAAFwU/hS2uQUkOFTUxRLjJghHIA0CWUBMmhzgeACLcB/s1600/13%2Blb%2Bpike.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nJBY-rXTaNc/WJDSRycZz3I/AAAAAAAAFwU/hS2uQUkOFTUxRLjJghHIA0CWUBMmhzgeACLcB/s320/13%2Blb%2Bpike.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Like the famous French food writer Brillat Savarin, my grandfather didn't want to chop up his regal catch in order to cook it. So, as other Brockville anglers did at the time, he turned for culinary assistance to Lor Leip, founder of the <a href="http://newyorkrestaurant.ca/" target="_blank">New York Restaurant</a>, which has been in business since 1930.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Many people have told parts of the fascinating story of Chinese restaurants in Canada, like <i>Globe and Mail</i> food reporter Ann Hui in her two-part piece&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/chop-suey-nation/article30539419/" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">Chop Suey Nation</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;and Lily Cho in her book&nbsp;<i><a href="http://www.utppublishing.com/Eating-Chinese-Culture-on-the-Menu-in-Small-Town-Canada.html" target="_blank">Eating Chinese: Culture on the Menu in Small Town Canada</a></i>.&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The story of Lor Leip and the New York Restaurant in particular is compellingly told on the site </span><a href="https://livesofthefamily.com/the-lor-family-in-brockville/" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">Lives of the Family</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. In brief, he followed his father to Canada and joined him in a Brockville laundry business (both paying a head tax to enter the country). He later married Canadian-born Agnes Young, whose family ran a New York Café in North Bay.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZiNATo9Gymg/WJDUDYKIPkI/AAAAAAAAFwg/I1j1PD02g9wAXYQ7-S2dTAhPs1AZa9XNACLcB/s1600/lor%2Band%2Bagnes%2Bleip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZiNATo9Gymg/WJDUDYKIPkI/AAAAAAAAFwg/I1j1PD02g9wAXYQ7-S2dTAhPs1AZa9XNACLcB/s320/lor%2Band%2Bagnes%2Bleip.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Here is a wedding portrait of Lor Leip and Agnes, taken four months before they opened their own Brockville restaurant. They raised a family there (including his daughter by his first wife), and my mom was at school with some of the Lor children. The restaurant was considered rather glamorous by Brockville residents; it was a linen-tablecloth establishment that served fine-dining items like fresh lobster. It&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">was profiled a few years ago by a Hong Kong documentary team shooting a series called <i>Overseas Chinese</i>; they </span><a href="http://www.recorder.ca/2012/05/18/chinese-tv-documentary-features-local-restaurant" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">interviewed Leip and Agnes' daughter Valerie Mah</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, who is now a prominent historian of the Chinese community in Toronto.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">In any case, the end of my mother's reminiscence is that her father took the fish to Lor Leip, who had the right equipment to cook it up for a family feast. And now the fine pike is &nbsp;just a family memory, but Leip and Agnes' restaurant is still a going concern.</span></span>http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2017/01/east-meets-west-fish-story.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-7766475164593580285Wed, 13 Apr 2016 17:39:00 +00002016-04-13T13:39:13.263-04:00Growing FoodVeggie Gardening Arithmatic: How Many Plants from 79 Seeds?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fIEol94echs/Vw6AgZT_eWI/AAAAAAAAFq8/ZJ0IdleeB9k8T8Pb0REhSo3BNCYc63zpwCLcB/s1600/Tomato%2Bseedlings%2Bs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="497" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fIEol94echs/Vw6AgZT_eWI/AAAAAAAAFq8/ZJ0IdleeB9k8T8Pb0REhSo3BNCYc63zpwCLcB/s640/Tomato%2Bseedlings%2Bs.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Around March 15 I sowed 79 leftover seeds for heirloom tomatoes, broccoli, collards, canteloupe and citron melon, two per square in seedling trays. A month later, they've been transplanted into slightly larger pots. You can see already how much more vigorous the ones on the right are; they were transplanted yesterday, whereas the ones on the left were transplanted this morning.<br /><br />Of 48 tomato seeds, I've got 30 seedlings. The lone citron melon seed did not germinate, and the one canteloupe seedling that appeared soon died. I believe I planted 8 seeds each for regular broccoli, collards and romanesco broccoli. Those 24 seeds have yielded six frail plants. It remains to be seen whether they'll survive until &nbsp;planting time.<br /><br />Since I started rather early, these plants may want to be moved into even bigger pots before they go into the ground, but I hope not to have to do that. I've already parcelled eight off to a family member for her balcony garden to save space in my office.<br /><br />I'll give most away, since my veggie plot can only accommodate two or three tomoato plants. The annoyance is that although I used a "permanent" marker on plastic sign stakes, the first few mistings with water obliterated the labels, so I have a raft of mystery tomatoes and brassicae. Well, it'll be exciting to see what I get!http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2016/04/veggie-gardening-arithmatic-how-many.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-7004156746739953230Mon, 10 Aug 2015 17:30:00 +00002015-08-11T01:14:28.127-04:00Farmers MarketsFood EventBaconfest 2015 Winners at Leslieville Farmers' Market<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cYl8HO1mRVo/VcjX8u53-LI/AAAAAAAAFns/T08p5SIvk2Y/s1600/Baconfest%2B2015%2B1st%2Bprize%2Bwinner%2BSweet%2BSammies%2B800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="456" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cYl8HO1mRVo/VcjX8u53-LI/AAAAAAAAFns/T08p5SIvk2Y/s640/Baconfest%2B2015%2B1st%2Bprize%2Bwinner%2BSweet%2BSammies%2B800.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />In a salty showdown of smoked pork goodness, Sanibel Motiwala of <a href="http://sweetsammies.ca/" target="_blank">Sweet Sammies</a> took the coveted Golden Spatula at the Leslieville Farmers' Market's Baconfest yesterday, topping entries from a dozen other local food producers with her brown sugar bourbon bacon ice cream in a bacon-fatty waffle cone, topped with a chocolate-dipped bacon strip.<br /><br />For her second first-place win in two years, she used a variety of local ingredients, including Perth Pork bacon, Hewitt's Dairy milk, Stirling butter and Homestead Farms eggs.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OLGKhpxY7i0/VcjX8sQV9SI/AAAAAAAAFno/Gxt6VeQUy84/s1600/Jack%2Band%2BLil%2Bs%2BEyes%2BWide%2BOpen%2BBacon%2Bricotta%2Bsandwich%2B2nd%2Bprize%2B800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OLGKhpxY7i0/VcjX8sQV9SI/AAAAAAAAFno/Gxt6VeQUy84/s400/Jack%2Band%2BLil%2Bs%2BEyes%2BWide%2BOpen%2BBacon%2Bricotta%2Bsandwich%2B2nd%2Bprize%2B800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />But Motiwala didn't hog all the bacon glory. Second prize went to caterers&nbsp;<a href="http://www.jackandlils.ca/" target="_blank">Jack and Lil's</a>&nbsp;for their "Eyes Wide Open", a Cumbrae's bacon sandwich with eggs, house-smoked Steen's Dairy ricotta, charred cherry tomato and scallions.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M-x7WAAt3x8/VcjcKe8c6wI/AAAAAAAAFoM/T-AOf4Rosmw/s1600/Pementon%2Bpulled%2Bpork%2Barepa%2Bwith%2Bsmoked%2Bmaple%2Bbacon%2Bpeach%2Bbbq%2Bsauce%2B3rd%2Bprize%2B800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M-x7WAAt3x8/VcjcKe8c6wI/AAAAAAAAFoM/T-AOf4Rosmw/s400/Pementon%2Bpulled%2Bpork%2Barepa%2Bwith%2Bsmoked%2Bmaple%2Bbacon%2Bpeach%2Bbbq%2Bsauce%2B3rd%2Bprize%2B800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />Third place went to <a href="http://www.pimenton.ca/" target="_blank">Pimenton</a>, for its pulled-pork arepa with smoked maple bacon peach barbeque sauce, using a house-made arepa from local corn, Bespoke Butchers pork, peaches from Bizjak Farms and maple syrup from Forbes Wild Foods.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WK2-i9MA41M/VcjdRrfN-8I/AAAAAAAAFoY/sNNexFwySz4/s1600/East%2BSide%2BSocial%2Bjerk%2Bbacon%2Bsandwich%2Bhon%2Bmention%2B800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WK2-i9MA41M/VcjdRrfN-8I/AAAAAAAAFoY/sNNexFwySz4/s400/East%2BSide%2BSocial%2Bjerk%2Bbacon%2Bsandwich%2Bhon%2Bmention%2B800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Honourable mention went to <a href="http://www.eastsidesocial.ca/" target="_blank">Eastside Social</a>'s jerk bacon sandwich, using Perth Pork and carrot-cabbage slaw on a house-made kaiser with house-made hickory sticks.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ac3ulzyZ-VE/Vcjd4ecor_I/AAAAAAAAFog/uByVx_2ei0Q/s1600/Rashers%2BPeoples%2BChoce%2Bbacon%2Bbutty%2Band%2BHogtown%2Bsandwich%2B800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ac3ulzyZ-VE/Vcjd4ecor_I/AAAAAAAAFog/uByVx_2ei0Q/s320/Rashers%2BPeoples%2BChoce%2Bbacon%2Bbutty%2Band%2BHogtown%2Bsandwich%2B800.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Eastside Social was also the runner-up in the People's Choice awards; top choice was <a href="http://www.rashers.ca/" target="_blank">Rashers</a>, which entered a classic, crowd-pleasing Bacon Butty and the Hogtown Sandwich with peameal bacon, using Perth Pork and Armstrong cheddar.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6br4n_0loQs/VcjX-pQsIfI/AAAAAAAAFoA/RQsdjzE3IQo/s1600/Seema%2BPabari%2Bof%2BTiffinday%2Breceives%2B1st%2Bprize%2Bfor%2Bvegetarian%2BBaconfest%2Bentry%2Bfromjudge%2BWayne%2BRoberts%2B800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6br4n_0loQs/VcjX-pQsIfI/AAAAAAAAFoA/RQsdjzE3IQo/s400/Seema%2BPabari%2Bof%2BTiffinday%2Breceives%2B1st%2Bprize%2Bfor%2Bvegetarian%2BBaconfest%2Bentry%2Bfromjudge%2BWayne%2BRoberts%2B800.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />First prize in the vegetarian category went to Seema Pabari of <a href="https://www.tiffinday.com/" target="_blank">Tiffinday</a> for her smoked tamarind curry fries. Here, she receives her remarkable award, consisting of potted peppers, from judge Wayne Roberts. (That's market manager Daniel Taylor behind them.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zokw6P1CA-k/VcjX9Qc-poI/AAAAAAAAFn4/rY12Z7C6Nu8/s1600/Judges%2BPatrick%2BMcMurray%2BWayne%2BRoberts%2Bmarket%2Bboard%2Bmember%2BJanaki%2BHadida%2Bjudges%2BCharlott%2BLangley%2Band%2BJoel%2BSolish%2B800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zokw6P1CA-k/VcjX9Qc-poI/AAAAAAAAFn4/rY12Z7C6Nu8/s400/Judges%2BPatrick%2BMcMurray%2BWayne%2BRoberts%2Bmarket%2Bboard%2Bmember%2BJanaki%2BHadida%2Bjudges%2BCharlott%2BLangley%2Band%2BJoel%2BSolish%2B800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />The judges apparently survived their smoky ordeal: two hours of noshing down on bacon offerings! Shown with market board member Janaki Hadida (centre), they are (left to right) Patrick McMurray of <a href="http://www.ceilicottage.com/" target="_blank">Ceili Cottage</a>, food policy advocate <a href="http://wayneroberts.ca/" target="_blank">Wayne Roberts</a>, <a href="https://about.me/charlottelangley" target="_blank">Charlotte Langley</a> of Scout Canning and Joel Solish of <a href="http://culinarycreative.ca/" target="_blank">Culinary Creative</a>.http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2015/08/baconfest-2015-winners-at-leslieville.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-2125808161207299714Thu, 30 Apr 2015 19:44:00 +00002015-05-04T11:38:47.936-04:00Cheese TastingRecipesHow to Make Ricotta Cheese at Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hIXByH3VdfU/VUJ-SdqOtvI/AAAAAAAAFkw/v-e98SpRm3I/s1600/ricotta%2Bfinal%2Bproduct.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hIXByH3VdfU/VUJ-SdqOtvI/AAAAAAAAFkw/v-e98SpRm3I/s1600/ricotta%2Bfinal%2Bproduct.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Have a look at this beautiful sheep's milk ricotta, freshly made and still warm! This was the product of a cheese-making workshop I attended last night at my favourite local café and art gallery, <a href="http://flyingpony.ca/" target="_blank">Flying Pon</a>y on Gerrard East.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LrW_VjE_l9A/VUJ-TO6rA8I/AAAAAAAAFk8/DBU6xtq3mvw/s1600/ricotta%2Bsession%2Bkim%2Band%2Bjeremy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LrW_VjE_l9A/VUJ-TO6rA8I/AAAAAAAAFk8/DBU6xtq3mvw/s1600/ricotta%2Bsession%2Bkim%2Band%2Bjeremy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Here's the workshop organizer, Kim Antonius-Peabody, who's just opening her new <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pitchforkcompany/info?tab=overview" target="_blank">Pitchfork Co. storefront</a> (1322B Gerrard Street East near Greenwood, 647-929-2968), which will be offering all kinds of cooking workshops, including a chef's series, as well as selling small-batch local and artisanal foods. On the right is workshop leader, fromagère and sommelier Jeremy Lago of <a href="http://www.thepantryfinecheese.com/" target="_blank">The Pantry</a>, a fine cheese shop&nbsp;at 1620 Gerrard East (647-341-6099).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjmgQAyvLnw/VUJ-SOr5BnI/AAAAAAAAFks/vZEnAjjaP88/s1600/ricotta%2Bmilk%2Bheating%2Bin%2Bpot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjmgQAyvLnw/VUJ-SOr5BnI/AAAAAAAAFks/vZEnAjjaP88/s1600/ricotta%2Bmilk%2Bheating%2Bin%2Bpot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Making ricotta is ridiculously simple.You start with whole (not homogenized) buffalo, sheep or cow's milk, or else whey. (If the milk is not full-fat, you may have to add about ½ teaspoon of calcium chloride per litre/quart, but for now I'll assume you're okay in &nbsp;that department.) It's warmed gently to over 185°F/85°C, but not over 200°F/93°C. It should be gently stirred from time to time as it's warming.<br /><br />This batch used 8 litres (just over 8 quarts), which will yield about 4 cups. The smallest worthwhile batch would be about 2 litres (one cup). The fine sheep's milk used in this batch cost about $60, so cheese-making can be pricey. Add about 1 tablespoon of salt per 8 litres of milk, or to taste. (If you're using whey, it won't need more salt.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ijq_oONtmaY/VUJ-RStIxUI/AAAAAAAAFkk/CDSHOEViB-c/s1600/ricotta%2Bbeing%2Bladeled%2Bfrom%2Bmilk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ijq_oONtmaY/VUJ-RStIxUI/AAAAAAAAFkk/CDSHOEViB-c/s1600/ricotta%2Bbeing%2Bladeled%2Bfrom%2Bmilk.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />When the liquid has reached the right temperature, you add 1 tablespoon of acid per litre: your choice of white vinegar, lemon juice or lime juice. Almost immediately it will start to thicken and curdle. Skim off the delicious ricotta curds with a skimmer and transfer them to a cheesecloth-lined strainer, as shown above. (This is why it's called cheesecloth.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NLwl_mY-8V8/VUJ-T3UAh1I/AAAAAAAAFlE/v-BV3iGbtww/s1600/ricotta%2Bstrained%2Bin%2Bcheescloth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NLwl_mY-8V8/VUJ-T3UAh1I/AAAAAAAAFlE/v-BV3iGbtww/s1600/ricotta%2Bstrained%2Bin%2Bcheescloth.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After the cheese has been squeezed gently in the cheesecloth, drained and cooled a bit, it's ready to eat. It will keep about a week in the fridge. It can be eaten plain, or with honey or olive oil and herbs, or in lasagna, or ravioli or on top of a nice spaghetti sauce or a salad. Yum!</div>http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2015/04/how-to-make-ricotta-cheese-at-home.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-2195068351992156817Tue, 07 Apr 2015 21:21:00 +00002015-04-09T13:47:06.006-04:00Official Egg Weight Standards Compared<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HS6ZQks_oJE/VSRFuRSiz3I/AAAAAAAAFg0/lh656pZife4/s1600/eggs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HS6ZQks_oJE/VSRFuRSiz3I/AAAAAAAAFg0/lh656pZife4/s1600/eggs.jpg" height="320" width="400" /></a></div><br />I just put together a comparison of the official classifications for the weight of eggs sold in Canada, the US and the UK while prepping a food writing course that I'm teaching, and I'm surprised how much they differ.<br /><br />Not that a gram or two will make a big difference if you're talking about a two-egg omelette. But I have a favourite recipe that uses eight "large" eggs. It's from a US cookbook, so the expected weight of eggs is about 456g. Using British eggs, though, I'd get between 504g and 585g; the equivalent of an extra couple of American eggs (as you'll see from the chart below)!<br /><br />It also basically means that North Americans baking with UK cookery books should move to the next size up from whatever's specified. (No wonder the Brits don't use a "Jumbo" classification!)<br /><br />Incidentally, the UK used to use a size numbering system. If you happen to find yourself using a recipe that calls for a "Size 3" egg, it'll be handy to know that the current weight for Very Large equals the old Size 0 or 1, Large is 1 to 3, Medium is 3 to 5 and Small is 5 to 7.<br /><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 30.35pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 384px;"> <tbody><tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"> <td nowrap="" style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="89"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">CANADA<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="89"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">US<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 68.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="91"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">UK<o:p></o:p></div></td> </tr><tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;"> <td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Jumbo<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="89"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">at least 70g<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="89"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">abt 71g<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 68.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="91"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">n/a<o:p></o:p></div></td> </tr><tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;"> <td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Very/Extra Large<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="89"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">63-69g<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="89"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">abt 64g<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 68.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="91"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">at least 73g<o:p></o:p></div></td> </tr><tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;"> <td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Large<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="89"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">56-62g<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="89"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">abt 57g<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 68.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="91"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">63-73g<o:p></o:p></div></td> </tr><tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;"> <td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Medium<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="89"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">49-55g<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="89"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">abt 50g<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 68.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="91"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">53-63g<o:p></o:p></div></td> </tr><tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;"> <td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Small<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="89"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">42-48g<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="89"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">abt 42.5g<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 68.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="91"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">n/a<o:p></o:p></div></td> </tr><tr style="height: 15.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="115"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Peewee<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="89"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">under 41g<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="89"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">n/a<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 15.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 68.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="91"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">n/a<o:p></o:p></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><br />NB: The US weights are approximate, since American regulations specify the weight by dozen rather than by single eggs.http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2015/04/official-egg-weight-standards-compared.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-1767986365569970371Tue, 24 Mar 2015 19:27:00 +00002015-03-24T15:28:57.978-04:00Restaurant NewsA Canadian and an American Bite Into a Bar...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YitKIdRz7Qg/VRGw6zd02II/AAAAAAAAFf8/svyH33W_S90/s1600/Jos_Louis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YitKIdRz7Qg/VRGw6zd02II/AAAAAAAAFf8/svyH33W_S90/s1600/Jos_Louis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YitKIdRz7Qg/VRGw6zd02II/AAAAAAAAFf8/svyH33W_S90/s1600/Jos_Louis.jpg" height="260" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yesterday I had the pleasant surprise of running into Noah Bernamoff, founder of Brooklyn's Mile End Deli, at Ivy Knight's weekly <a href="http://www.thedrakehotel.ca/happenings/listings/Foodie/" target="_blank">86'd series</a> for the restaurant crowd. I have yet to visit the deli (still trying to get some free time in NY), but I'm a <a href="http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2013/04/the-mile-end-cookbook.html?q=mile+end" target="_blank">big fan of the cookbook</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Bernamoff is in town to do a <a href="http://www.drakeonefifty.ca/whatson/listings/" target="_blank">pop-up dinner</a> at The Drake Hotel tomorrow as part of their Guest Chef series, and shortly after my introducing myself we were deep into a discussion of Montreal bagels (of course), his second Mile End location in Manhattan, his new&nbsp;<a href="http://www.blackseedbagels.com/" target="_blank">Black Seed</a> bagel bakery, and Quebec junk food.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hr0SE2DQfiA/VRGw33dh3pI/AAAAAAAAFf0/ct-17RUF8sQ/s1600/may%2Bwest%2Bcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hr0SE2DQfiA/VRGw33dh3pI/AAAAAAAAFf0/ct-17RUF8sQ/s1600/may%2Bwest%2Bcake.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In particular, he informed me that his very first priority upon arrival was to procure (and consume, one imagines) a Jos. Louis, a Mr. Big and a Coffee Crisp. It may surprise some to know that even Manhattan cannot supply every human good. You generally can't buy the classic Vachon cakes known as Jos. (short for Joseph) Louis or its vanilla sister, the May West (my preferred snack cake) in the U.S*. (More than Poutine, <i>un Pepsi p'is une May West</i>&nbsp;was the quintessential Montrealer's guilty pleasure when I was growing up.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Even here in Toronto, they're tough to get. The May West is most often sold in packs of six rather than as separate cakes (which could be had for 10 cents when I was a kid). Bernamoff and I were quickly carried away into rhapsodies about how the waxy chocolate coating cracks as you bite into it and your teeth penetrate to the cakey interior, which most resembles dessicated mattress foam, gratefully softened by the artificial-tasting cream blob in the middle.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">(I was surprised that Bernamoff didn't profess any knowledge of the Puffed Square, another of my youthful favourites, but it later occurred to me that he may know them by their more recent moniker of Passion Flaky.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oMpU4z3f34E/VRGw91WeOBI/AAAAAAAAFgE/hKle1qU2ugA/s1600/coffee%2Bcrisp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oMpU4z3f34E/VRGw91WeOBI/AAAAAAAAFgE/hKle1qU2ugA/s1600/coffee%2Bcrisp.jpg" height="192" width="640" /></a></div>Coffee Crisp (my favourite chocolate bar), is another among the Canadian items you can't normally get in the U.S. This Nice Light Snack, for those who don't know it, is a hazelnut wafer sandwich.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8EPdrPKw6mc/VRGxBisoxLI/AAAAAAAAFgM/NmC7LfoM-a0/s1600/mr%2Bbig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8EPdrPKw6mc/VRGxBisoxLI/AAAAAAAAFgM/NmC7LfoM-a0/s1600/mr%2Bbig.jpg" height="111" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Mr. Big also contains wafer. I have always thought of it as a less dense version of an Oh Henry, but my brother points out that it more closely resembles the vanished "Snack Bar". The pleasure of a Mr. Big is its harsh, quick-to-dissolve sugariness.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You might think most of us ought to be beyond the allure of these dreadful pleasures, but when I returned to my table, one of my friends, who is an otherwise respectable grownup, informed me that he likes sometimes in secret to consume <i>alternate bites</i> of a Coffee Crisp and a Mr. Big, <i>with sips of coffee</i> between the bites.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You can apparently take the Montrealer out of Montreal, but you can't wrest his (or her) childhood pleasures out of his eager grasp.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Avr3py_lzzg/VRG2mb-tC3I/AAAAAAAAFgc/fA3CR9OImMo/s1600/Bounty%2Bchocolate%2Bbar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Avr3py_lzzg/VRG2mb-tC3I/AAAAAAAAFgc/fA3CR9OImMo/s1600/Bounty%2Bchocolate%2Bbar.jpg" height="90" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">*Incidentally, Smarties belong on this list of only-in-Canada treats, and so does Bounty, named, as my astute brother points out, not for its generous size, but for the Mutiny, Tahitian iconography on the label makes the tenuous link between the coconut filling and the name.</div>http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2015/03/a-canadian-and-american-bite-into-bar.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-4981321920172183257Sun, 22 Feb 2015 16:46:00 +00002015-02-22T11:56:00.174-05:00Food EventMad for Marmalade 2015 Competition Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SZ2weBKZssw/VOn78bX65NI/AAAAAAAAFek/Tv25BHj-75w/s1600/Orange%2Band%2Bwhite%2Bmarmalade%2Bcream%2Bcake%2Bby%2BDiane%2BVachon%2B3rd%2Bplace%2Bs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SZ2weBKZssw/VOn78bX65NI/AAAAAAAAFek/Tv25BHj-75w/s1600/Orange%2Band%2Bwhite%2Bmarmalade%2Bcream%2Bcake%2Bby%2BDiane%2BVachon%2B3rd%2Bplace%2Bs.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br />I had the delightfully hectic task yesterday of wrangling eight feisty judges, 20 competitors and 28 marmalade-based creations for yesterday's marmalade competition at the <a href="http://culinaryhistorians.ca/" target="_blank">Culinary Historians of Canada</a>'s 8th annual Mad for Marmalade, Crazy for Citrus! event, hosted by Fort York. All the entries were delicious, and there were some highly deserving winners.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RsK1JYEAe1E/VOn72w6bhHI/AAAAAAAAFeM/Cf7j9BiD8UI/s1600/Judges.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RsK1JYEAe1E/VOn72w6bhHI/AAAAAAAAFeM/Cf7j9BiD8UI/s1600/Judges.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br />This is our hardworking crew of judges, who took exceptional care to make sure every entry was fairly considered. Many second and third tastes were had (especially of the baking (!) From left to right, they are Yvonne Tremblay, Marilyn Rootham of <a href="http://www.roothamsgourmet.com/" target="_blank">Rootham's Gourmet Preserves</a>, Tom Boyd, Charmian Christie of <a href="http://themessybaker.com/" target="_blank">The Messy Baker</a>, Christine Manning of <a href="http://www.manningcanning.com/" target="_blank">Manning Canning</a>, Kyla Eaglesham of <a href="http://www.madeleines.ca/" target="_blank">Madeleines, Cherry Pie and Ice Cream</a>, <a href="http://www.danamccauley.com/" target="_blank">Dana McCauley</a> and Joanna Sable.<br /><br />Among the prizes were marmalades from the <a href="http://www.aiccnet.ca/en-ca/index.asp" target="_blank">Association of Italian Chefs of Canada</a>, Florida grapefruit, <a href="http://goodfruitguide.co.uk/fruits/grapefruits/sweetie" target="_blank">Jaffa Sweeties</a>&nbsp;and other citrus, a pair of passes to see the Paddington movie, courtesy of <a href="http://www.cineplex.com/" target="_blank">Cineplex</a>&nbsp;(because he loves marmalade!), the new book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Pucker-A-Cookbook-Citrus-Lovers/dp/1770502270" target="_blank">Pucker: A Cookbook for Citrus Lovers</a></i> by Gwendolyn Richards and boxes of StickerYou dissolvable stickers from <a href="http://www.bernardin.ca/" target="_blank">Bernardin</a>.<br /><br />Here are the ribbon winners:<br /><br /><b>Pure Seville Orange Marmalade</b><br /><ul><li>1st: Mary Mucio, for her classic version, made from the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.canadianliving.com/food/classic_seville_orange_marmalade.php" target="_blank">Canadian Living recipe</a></li><li>2nd: Patrick Forbes, who has won several times in the past.</li></ul><b>Citrus Marmalade</b><br /><ul><li>1st and Best in Show: Mark D’Aguilar, for his exquisite Seville orange, quince and star anise marmalade, which had a lovely and very unusual taste. He saved quince juice from the fall, and combined it with Seville oranges and lemons when the oranges came into season.</li><li>2nd: Duane Edward Anderson, for his blood orange marmalade, which had a lovely colour, perhaps because he used the trick of adding a pinch of baking soda to brighten it</li><li>3rd: <a href="http://www.moirasanders.com/baking/mad-marmalade/" target="_blank">Moira Sanders</a>, a double winner, for her <a href="http://www.moirasanders.com/preserves/cara-cara-orange-ginger-marmalade/" target="_blank">Cara Cara and ginger marmalade</a></li></ul><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GB97XRYYxvc/VOn73vsM6yI/AAAAAAAAFeQ/FpxENjKNESI/s1600/Orange%2Bpistachio%2Bbaklava%2Bby%2BMoira%2BSanders%2B2nd%2Bplace%2Bs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GB97XRYYxvc/VOn73vsM6yI/AAAAAAAAFeQ/FpxENjKNESI/s1600/Orange%2Bpistachio%2Bbaklava%2Bby%2BMoira%2BSanders%2B2nd%2Bplace%2Bs.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moira Sanders' 2nd-place winning orange &nbsp;pistachio baklava</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Citrus Preserves</b><br /><ul><li>1st: Genevieve Shave of Fergus, Ontario, for her Scotch marmalade, based on a family recipe. (I think the secret is the quarter-cup of Scotch.)</li><li>2nd: Peter Denton of Winnipeg for his Christmas cranberry marmalade, of which he makes about 120 jars annually as Christmas presents. I'd like to be on his list!</li><li>3rd: Lisette Mallet, whose brandied processor grapefruit marmalade was based on a recipe in Ellie Topp's <i><a href="http://www.fireflybooks.com/index.php/catalogue/product/9079-the-complete-book-of-small-batch-preserving-over-300-recipes-to-use-year-round" target="_blank">Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving</a></i> (the book I used to learn how to preserve food in jars).</li></ul><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qGcWoJ0xqL8/VOn74hC1C8I/AAAAAAAAFec/yU_LkV2GgfA/s1600/Crostata%2Bdi%2Bmarmellata%2Balbicocche%2Be%2Baurancia%2Bby%2BSherry%2BMurphy%2B1st%2Bplace%2Bb%2Bs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qGcWoJ0xqL8/VOn74hC1C8I/AAAAAAAAFec/yU_LkV2GgfA/s1600/Crostata%2Bdi%2Bmarmellata%2Balbicocche%2Be%2Baurancia%2Bby%2BSherry%2BMurphy%2B1st%2Bplace%2Bb%2Bs.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sherry Murphy's first-place winning crostata di marmellata albicocche e aurancia</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Baking With Marmalade</b><br /><ul><li>1st: Sherry Murphy for her delicious crostata di marmellata albicocche e aurancia (above), an apricot and orange marmalade tart. Like several of the baking entries, she picked an Italian recipe to go along with this year's Italian citrus theme. Her recipe was based on one found in the book <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Piano-Pieno-Susan-McKenna-Grant/dp/000639552X"><i>Piano Piano Pieno, Authentic Food from a Tuscan Farm</i></a> by Susan McKenna-Grant. Sherry is one of the volunteer historic cooks at Fort York, and she's a dab hand with both preserved citrus and pastry.</li><li>2nd: Moira Sanders, for her orange water-flavoured orange pistachio baklava (pictured above)</li><li>3rd: Diane Vachon's beautiful, flower-bedecked orange and white marmalade cream cake (pictured at the top), for which she made her own curd and frosting.</li></ul>http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2015/02/mad-for-marmalade-2015-competition.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-7710451988861843572Thu, 19 Feb 2015 02:35:00 +00002015-02-18T21:35:58.597-05:00Food HistoryMy Illustrated Lecture on the Shirriff Food Company<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HvQQMTXzmUs/VON_grYo-4I/AAAAAAAAFdk/xb3nINQfnto/s1600/mashed%2Bpotato%2Bcoupon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HvQQMTXzmUs/VON_grYo-4I/AAAAAAAAFdk/xb3nINQfnto/s1600/mashed%2Bpotato%2Bcoupon.jpg" height="298" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For some years, I've been a bit obsessed with the history of Shirriff (AKA the Imperial Extract Company). Founded in Toronto in the 19th century, it's a household name that Canadians still fondly associate with collectible hockey coins, mashed potato flakes, Good Morning Marmalade and instant puddings and pie fillings containing “flavour buds”.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P1t3JwntzRA/VON_hEG8dXI/AAAAAAAAFdo/PGkEu1PDJmc/s1600/Shirriff%2Bhockey%2Bcoins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P1t3JwntzRA/VON_hEG8dXI/AAAAAAAAFdo/PGkEu1PDJmc/s1600/Shirriff%2Bhockey%2Bcoins.jpg" height="269" width="320" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;">The Shirriff company pioneered new food manufacturing processes and innovative packaging. However, its story is not well known compared to similar brands that grew from family businesses in 19th-century Toronto, like Neilsen Dairy, Weston Bakeries, Maple Leaf meats and Christie's, the cracker and cookie bakers.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kPhbsUMHrz8/VON_mB4T6oI/AAAAAAAAFd0/re3j-yEbQd0/s1600/baking%2Bpowder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kPhbsUMHrz8/VON_mB4T6oI/AAAAAAAAFd0/re3j-yEbQd0/s1600/baking%2Bpowder.jpg" height="396" width="640" /></a></div><br />Francis Adam Shirriff (1848-1944), the founder of the firm, was born in Huntingdon, Quebec, son of an Edinburgh-trained doctor. He helped resist the Fenian Raids and worked for the federal government in Ottawa before arriving in Toronto about 1870. Besides his own company, he helped found Bright's wines, which eventually expanded to become Canada's biggest wine company, Vincor International. His four sons and one of his grandsons worked in the business, and its story (including its eventual sale to US-based Kellogg) offers an interesting perspective on the history of food production in the growing city of Toronto from the late 19th century onward.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RyxNAsp-RHY/VON_2GRSutI/AAAAAAAAFd8/-4DeVZVIB2w/s1600/1925%2Blogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RyxNAsp-RHY/VON_2GRSutI/AAAAAAAAFd8/-4DeVZVIB2w/s1600/1925%2Blogo.jpg" height="167" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10, &nbsp;I'll &nbsp;be giving an expanded version of my illustrated lecture (I love the idea of an "illustrated lecture"; so respectably 19th-century!) about the Shirriffs that I've previously offered at Mad for Marmalade (2012) and for the Riverdale Historical Society (2014). Titled "Frannces Shirriff and the Canadian Dinner Table", it's being presented at the <a href="http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=7cb4ba2ae8b1e310VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD" target="_blank">City of Toronto Archives</a> (255 Spadina Avenue, near Dupont TTC) and is part of this year's programming for the <a href="http://culinaryhistorians.ca/events/upcoming-events/frances-shirriff-and-the-canadian-dinner-table" target="_blank">Culinary Historians of Canada</a>. The admission is $5 for students, $18 for members of the general public and $15 for CHC members; a tour of the current exhibit <a href="http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=bec893d7ceb31410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&amp;vgnextchannel=7cb4ba2ae8b1e310VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD" target="_blank">Made in Toronto: Food and Drink Manufacturing in Our City</a> starts at 7 p.m. Proceeds go to the Culinary Historians for future programming.</div>http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2015/02/my-illustrated-lecture-on-shirriff-food.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-6319146853991274164Mon, 09 Feb 2015 16:58:00 +00002015-02-09T13:09:31.907-05:00RecipesMaking Marmalade with Sweeties<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QKDUHzQ01aM/VNji9LLBKfI/AAAAAAAAFck/mqwjmle6U1Y/s1600/DSCF1884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QKDUHzQ01aM/VNji9LLBKfI/AAAAAAAAFck/mqwjmle6U1Y/s1600/DSCF1884.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br />Being a general citrus fan and marmalade lover with an interest in fruit varieties, I was intrigued when I was offered a tester batch of a new citrus product from Israel, Jaffa's Sweetie. Also known as an oroblanco, it's a grapefruit-pomelo cross with a remarkably thick pith. Less bitter and acidic than a grapefruit, it's extremely juicy. When I smelled it, I was sent back to my teenagerhood, because more than anything else it reminds me of &nbsp;'70s-era Mountain Dew.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tICP_34r2kY/VNji9C441jI/AAAAAAAAFcs/PuEGsxA-BTM/s1600/DSCF1900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tICP_34r2kY/VNji9C441jI/AAAAAAAAFcs/PuEGsxA-BTM/s1600/DSCF1900.JPG" height="366" width="400" /></a></div><br />Of course, I wanted to try it as marmalade. I used Elizabeth Baird's <a href="http://www.canadianliving.com/blogs/food/2009/04/06/why-make-marmalade/" target="_blank">wonderful grapefruit recipe</a>, but when I had boiled the fruit down to softness (and after it had stood overnight in the pot with the cheescloth bag of pulp and lemon seeds), I found I had only eight cups of liquid, so I added just seven cups of sugar, which gave me an eight-cup yield.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tlBd5NxI02Q/VNji9jGPzAI/AAAAAAAAFc0/xfLIWW5hyr0/s1600/DSCF1906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tlBd5NxI02Q/VNji9jGPzAI/AAAAAAAAFc0/xfLIWW5hyr0/s1600/DSCF1906.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />I'm not a very fine peel chopper. Here you see the scant pith of the lemons and the thicker pith of the Sweeties.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-crUa1gDNerE/VNji9xqKPSI/AAAAAAAAFc4/rafIX0i8tQo/s1600/DSCF1916.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-crUa1gDNerE/VNji9xqKPSI/AAAAAAAAFc4/rafIX0i8tQo/s1600/DSCF1916.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />The resulting marmalade has a clean taste, not as powerful as a normal grapefruit marmalade, but not as insipid and candylike as sweet orange. I think there's a lot of pectin in Sweeties, because they changed colour from a pale greenery-yallery (as Gilbert and Sullivan would put it) to a reddish gold, something I've noticed in high-pectin fruits.<br /><br />This was one of those odd batches that seems completely liquid when it first cools (even though I cooked it all the way to 221.5°C), but gels up a lot within 24 hours. I'll be interested to see what it looks like a week from now. Meanwhile, I'm very pleased to be able to add a new fruit to the marmalade repertoire!http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2015/02/making-marmalade-with-sweeties.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-7020756734336389397Sun, 18 Jan 2015 21:58:00 +00002015-01-18T16:58:16.329-05:00Cooking ClassLearning Cookie Decorating Skills at Bonnie Gordon College<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I_Aw3JE-ifw/VLwhKtsSm4I/AAAAAAAAFa4/5KNJD1rhO4Q/s1600/Cookie%2Bflooding%2Bresults.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I_Aw3JE-ifw/VLwhKtsSm4I/AAAAAAAAFa4/5KNJD1rhO4Q/s1600/Cookie%2Bflooding%2Bresults.jpg" height="464" width="640" /></a></div><br />Yesterday I was invited to attend a cookie-flooding class with a cheerful group of foodie females at <a href="http://www.bonniegordoncollege.com/" target="_blank">Bonnie Gordon College of Confectionary Arts</a>. It was one of the most enjoyable and instructive outings I've had in ages, and will certainly come in handy next time I attempt a Twelfth Cake.<br /><br />The picture above shows some of the products we turned out. I was amazed how quickly we were able to pick up sophisticated techniques that we'll certainly be able to reproduce at home.<br /><br />Besides offering full professional programs in baking, chocolate and confectionery arts, Bonnie Gordon College offers&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bonniegordoncollege.com/general-interest.html" target="_blank">lots of general-interest classes</a>&nbsp;covering the creation and embellishment of cakes, pies, cookies, bonbons and macarons, as well as sugar sculpting, edible flowers and even a session on costing cakes for those interested in starting their own business. They'd be ideal for anything from bridal-party festivities to business team-building exercises.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iklsTqfEKqc/VLwhPfH4lsI/AAAAAAAAFbY/sYOhfUYZB7Y/s1600/Sample%2Bcookies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iklsTqfEKqc/VLwhPfH4lsI/AAAAAAAAFbY/sYOhfUYZB7Y/s1600/Sample%2Bcookies.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br />When we arrived, we were confronted by this impressive exhibit of sample cookies that show what you can do with (from the bottom up) cookie flooding, brush painting with sugar, sugar lattice work with a chocolate flower and chocolate ruffles and bows. To my surprise, we covered the techniques required to make all of these samples in just one class.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mn2oa7hUkyo/VLwhOCFSB-I/AAAAAAAAFbI/nF2_Vs_2cLw/s1600/Royal%2Bicing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mn2oa7hUkyo/VLwhOCFSB-I/AAAAAAAAFbI/nF2_Vs_2cLw/s1600/Royal%2Bicing.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />Here, baking and pastry arts instructor <a href="http://instagram.com/juliemontgomerycakedesign/" target="_blank">Julie Montgomery</a>&nbsp;(former Executive Pastry Chef at North 44°) demonstrates proper technique for applying royal icing.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hPKRw1Fzcn8/VLwhOiYyYrI/AAAAAAAAFbQ/ep48SUtj0A0/s1600/Ribbon%2Btechnique.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hPKRw1Fzcn8/VLwhOiYyYrI/AAAAAAAAFbQ/ep48SUtj0A0/s1600/Ribbon%2Btechnique.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />Here, she shows how to apply a pink ruffle made of chocolate. (We were given take-home recipes for the cookies, the icing and even the modelling chocolate.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dLV262Z38eo/VLwhNRBGIaI/AAAAAAAAFbA/_ap-sHDipLE/s1600/Heart%2Bcookie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dLV262Z38eo/VLwhNRBGIaI/AAAAAAAAFbA/_ap-sHDipLE/s1600/Heart%2Bcookie.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />Julie's explanations were clear and inspiring, and in no time my classmates and I were turning out creations that looked astonishingly professional. This lacy, beribboned heart, made by one of my pals, is every bit as lovely as the original sample.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Lf1rOgrvw3Y/VLwhRnCGlOI/AAAAAAAAFb4/qDQ9wXbnq5s/s1600/wrench%2Bcookie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Lf1rOgrvw3Y/VLwhRnCGlOI/AAAAAAAAFb4/qDQ9wXbnq5s/s1600/wrench%2Bcookie.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div><br />Of course, gals will be gals, so people felt free to freestyle it too.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4MffrWtHtgE/VLwhQJOW8vI/AAAAAAAAFbg/cnABnVo2DmE/s1600/Sarah%2Bpainted%2Bcookie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4MffrWtHtgE/VLwhQJOW8vI/AAAAAAAAFbg/cnABnVo2DmE/s1600/Sarah%2Bpainted%2Bcookie.jpg" height="258" width="400" /></a></div><br />Here's my first effort at brush-painted royal icing on a chocolate base. I noticed that our teachers told us often that we were doing well, which was very encouraging.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6XG0a72jRHk/VLwhQ4mvUTI/AAAAAAAAFbw/LbJ1_bORTLQ/s1600/Sarah%2Bruffle%2Bcookie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6XG0a72jRHk/VLwhQ4mvUTI/AAAAAAAAFbw/LbJ1_bORTLQ/s1600/Sarah%2Bruffle%2Bcookie.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />I decided to try to make a carnation for my ruffly heart, and was most pleased when one of the instructors identified it right away.<br /><br />It was a great afternoon. I was really impressed with the class and most grateful for the chance to pick up some brand-new baking skills.http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2015/01/learning-cookie-decorating-skills-at.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-2497095016042788574Sun, 21 Dec 2014 03:07:00 +00002014-12-20T22:07:49.071-05:00ChristmasFood HistoryAn Early Victorian Christmas Dessert Table and More Adventures with Twelfth Cakes!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aIAo-KcnyBA/VJYw-kzIFiI/AAAAAAAAFVw/pDg-m33JN-c/s1600/twelfth%2Bcake%2Bwith%2Bicing%2Bby%2BKaren%2BMcK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aIAo-KcnyBA/VJYw-kzIFiI/AAAAAAAAFVw/pDg-m33JN-c/s1600/twelfth%2Bcake%2Bwith%2Bicing%2Bby%2BKaren%2BMcK.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div><br />Well, it's been a busy autumn; hence my longest-ever gap between posts. But as you can see from this picture, above, by my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hihoneysavethebees" target="_blank">beekeeping, soapmaking friend Karen</a>, I've been busy with historical baking, among other things. This is the current display in the dining room at <a href="http://www.montgomerysinn.com/" target="_blank">Montgomery's Inn</a>, meant to stand for a Christmas sweets table around 1840-ish, or just about smack dab in the period of <i>A Christmas Carol</i>.<br /><br />There's a Twelfth Cake, a mince pie, a bowl of oranges and quinces, and plates of gingerbread and (barely visible) shortbread. They were all concocted following recipes of the early 1800s last November 23.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tsWvEQBSiTg/VJYw-ix3sjI/AAAAAAAAFVs/ZhgK-yoQIog/s1600/Stir%2Bup%2BSunday%2B2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tsWvEQBSiTg/VJYw-ix3sjI/AAAAAAAAFVs/ZhgK-yoQIog/s1600/Stir%2Bup%2BSunday%2B2014.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />That was the date of Stir-up Sunday, the traditional British date upon which one cooks the Christmas puddings (making a wish as you stir them up). A small group of volunteer historic cooks, myself among them, met at the Inn to produce the displays, some puddings and a fair few mince tarts.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jfGTQxIA2dA/VJYw9gbnNlI/AAAAAAAAFVg/_YPma8Go_Ik/s1600/Mince%2Bpie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jfGTQxIA2dA/VJYw9gbnNlI/AAAAAAAAFVg/_YPma8Go_Ik/s1600/Mince%2Bpie.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />Here's what the mince pie looked like fresh out of the bake kettle (a cast-iron Dutch oven heated in the the hearth coals).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RqdbnCxmAQc/VJYw8UabstI/AAAAAAAAFVU/SKiPeM2Rffo/s1600/Hoops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RqdbnCxmAQc/VJYw8UabstI/AAAAAAAAFVU/SKiPeM2Rffo/s1600/Hoops.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />I had another go at the <a href="http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2010/11/how-to-bake-twelfth-cake-for-dickens-of.html?q=twelfth+cake" target="_blank">William Kitchiner Twelfth Cake recipe</a> of the 1820s. I didn't try to bake it in the wood-fired oven but I did fabricate "hoops" as called for in the recipe. These were wooden rings that were used before baking tins; you tied buttered paper around them, and the paper bottom helped cook a large dense cake through more evenly than a metal pan. Instead of wood, I used corrugated cardboard wrapped in tinfoil.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Inh2Pr_aro/VJYw6CyKy8I/AAAAAAAAFVM/p6fMJ3hjbY8/s1600/Baked%2BTwelfth%2BCake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Inh2Pr_aro/VJYw6CyKy8I/AAAAAAAAFVM/p6fMJ3hjbY8/s1600/Baked%2BTwelfth%2BCake.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />The cake could have been cooked at a lower temperature than 325; 300 would have been better.I ended up cutting a blackened slice off the bottom, but no real harm was done.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L_DJMy0H8WM/VJYw9WGNdbI/AAAAAAAAFVc/fOt4TI8Cb4c/s1600/First%2Biced%2BTwelfth%2BCake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L_DJMy0H8WM/VJYw9WGNdbI/AAAAAAAAFVc/fOt4TI8Cb4c/s1600/First%2Biced%2BTwelfth%2BCake.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />I iced it using half of Kitchiner's recipe, which calls for one pound of icing sugar to six egg whites, beaten by hand for 10 minutes. The juice of a lemon is added at the last minute. If you have a minute drop of blue dye, that would make the icing look even whiter;the original recipe asks for it. In my first go (seen above), I halved the recipe; however, I was pressed for time (and tired) and only beat the icing for about four minutes. Most of it dripped off the sides before it dried.<br /><br />Today, Karen and I went back to take it a step further.I made a new batch of icing, and this time I beat it with a whisk for a full ten minutes. It was thick and glossy. We only used about half the required lemon juice, because Kitchiner's lemon would likely have been smaller and perhaps more dried out than the ones you can buy in Toronto in 2014.<br /><br />Then we made up a batch of gum paste and made decorations; some molded, some cut out with cookie cutters, and some rolled and cut out freehand. We had a very limited amount of time, so it looks a bit crazy (especially the traditional crowns), but it was an excellent learning experience, and certainly will give visitors to the Inn a much closer idea of what an early Victorian Twelfth Cake might be expected to look like than its sadly denuded predecessor.<br /><br />Next time, I'd give myself about four hours, and I'd draw up a plan first, and probably do all the molding and cutting before glueing anything to the cake. But for now, I'm pretty happy with the result.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lEKk6jrWbRY/VJYw_swt9RI/AAAAAAAAFV8/nyQZpR7NFmk/s1600/Decorated%2BTwelfth%2BCake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lEKk6jrWbRY/VJYw_swt9RI/AAAAAAAAFV8/nyQZpR7NFmk/s1600/Decorated%2BTwelfth%2BCake.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2014/12/an-early-victorian-christmas-dessert.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-6607751933188693358Sun, 14 Sep 2014 19:03:00 +00002014-09-14T15:04:30.858-04:00Books About FoodMarisa McLellan and Preserving by the Pint<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aRL27qKixWs/VBXZadWBBVI/AAAAAAAAFS8/r1pUZU3Yz9I/s1600/preserving%2Bby%2Bthe%2B%2Bpint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aRL27qKixWs/VBXZadWBBVI/AAAAAAAAFS8/r1pUZU3Yz9I/s1600/preserving%2Bby%2Bthe%2B%2Bpint.jpg" height="400" width="305" /></a></div><br />A couple of weeks ago I experienced a bit of a meltdown while I was canning apple pectin to use for thickening future jams and jellies. The raw material was 25 pounds of wild apples that Jonathan and I had gathered from the verge of a parking lot not far from home.<br /><br />But 25 pounds is a lot, and I was trying to hurry the batch; to make a long story short, I tried to hang too much apple pulp in one jelly bag, and when it inevitably went sploosh! into the pot below, I and every surface for a dozen feet around were splattered with warm apple pulp and the precious juice I'd been trying to collect. This would never have happened if I'd been paying more attention to the message of Marisa McLellan's latest book,&nbsp;<i><a href="http://www.runningpress.com/book/hardcover/preserving-by-the-pint/9780762449682" target="_blank">Preserving by the Pint</a></i>&nbsp;(Running Press, 2014).<br /><br />Marisa is pretty much the acknowledged queen of jam bloggers. Her site,&nbsp;<a href="http://foodinjars.com/" target="_blank">Food in Jars</a>, now sees half a million visitors per month in prime canning season, as she will shyly admit if pressed. She's the go-to for tricky and specialized questions. Her first book,&nbsp;<i><a href="http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2012/12/top-cookbooks-of-2012-canadas-favourite.html?q=food+in+jars+marisa" target="_blank">Food in Jars</a></i>, published in 2012, has sold thousands of copies across North America.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YClrw0CPidQ/VBXZijP8YhI/AAAAAAAAFTE/okdjoAr-yEk/s1600/Marisa%2BMcClellan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YClrw0CPidQ/VBXZijP8YhI/AAAAAAAAFTE/okdjoAr-yEk/s1600/Marisa%2BMcClellan.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div><br />I have enjoyed an acquaintanceship with Marisa for some years (we once appeared as guests on the same podcast), but this weekend I had the pleasure of meeting her for the first time. Here she is, as comfortable and relaxed in person as she is on her blog, touring the fabulous rooftop kitchen garden at Toronto's iconic Royal York Hotel. She was in town to offer some demos at the <a href="http://wellpreserved.ca/schedule-speakers-tomorrows-kitchen-party/" target="_blank">Well Preserved Home Ec (Big Outdoor) Kitchen Party</a>, an awesome event at Harbourfront Centre, which (at time of writing) is still going on for another few hours.<br /><br />The point of the new book is that most of us are no longer trying to live through the winter on the fruits of our summertime preserving labour; instead, we want to enjoy the satisfaction of producing some tasty and attractive condiments to eat, impress our guests or give away. So we don't need to render down bushels of produce at a go.<br /><br />Marisa offers dozens of recipes for painless but dependable projects: two pints of zucchini pickles; half a pint of black raspberry preserves; a quart of sauerkraut, a pint of apple tart filling. Although I haven't tried out any of her recipes from this book, I have used others (I got a great result from her <a href="http://foodinjars.com/2014/07/sweet-cherry-chutney/" target="_blank">Sweet Cherry Chutney</a>), and I can't say enough in praise of them. They all work, and they're very well explained.<br /><br />Like <i>Food in Jars</i>, this book is physically beautiful, with luscious pictures. The recipes cover a wide range of territory, including sweets and savouries, with a few fermented foods and numerous pestos, glazes, sauces and chutneys that can be used to turn a basic meal (like oven-baked chicken legs) into something special. There are projects for all four seasons.<br /><br /><i>Preserving by the Pint</i> now certainly joins the short list of my favourite preserving cookbooks.&nbsp;(What are those, you ask? Well, off the top of my head:&nbsp;<i>Food in Jars</i> of course, as well as&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fruits-Earth-Recipes-Jellies-Preserves/dp/1906525269" target="_blank"><i>Fruits of the Earth</i></a> by Gloria Nichol of <a href="http://www.laundryetc.co.uk/" target="_blank">Laundry etc.</a>,&nbsp;<i><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Mes-Confitures-Jellies-Christine-Ferber/dp/0870136291" target="_blank">Mes Confitures</a></i> by French jam goddess <a href="http://www.christineferber.com/Christine-Ferber.html" target="_blank">Christine Ferber</a>&nbsp;and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Marmalade-Sweet-Savory-Spreads-Sophisticated/dp/0762443049" target="_blank">Marmalade</a></i> by Elizabeth Field.)<br /><br />When I asked Marisa to sign my own copies of her books, she did something that shows her caring and meticulous attitude to her work and readers: noticing that I had the first edition of <i>Preserving by the Pint</i>, she carefully turned to page 109 (Pizza Sauce) and hand-wrote the note that one needs to add the citric acid right after taking the sauce off the heat. Also, in two places on page 118 (Sweet Pear Caramel) and one place on page 171 (Caramelized Meyer Lemon Syrup), she corrected the temperature from 350°F/180°C to 250°F/121°C. A writer with this degree of dedication to accuracy and this command of detail is someone you can trust to write recipes that work!http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2014/09/a-couple-of-weeks-ago-i-experienced-bit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-565515563643199250Wed, 03 Sep 2014 17:36:00 +00002014-09-03T13:36:05.568-04:00RecipesMixed Berry Jam Recipe from Lookout Lodge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z8ULlLHnepo/VAdL5g8H_gI/AAAAAAAAFQ8/PgeJXj0OigU/s1600/Jam%2Bon%2Bporch%2Bs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z8ULlLHnepo/VAdL5g8H_gI/AAAAAAAAFQ8/PgeJXj0OigU/s1600/Jam%2Bon%2Bporch%2Bs.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br />I finally fulfilled a long-term dream: to make jam at <a href="http://lookoutlodge.weebly.com/" target="_blank">our family cottage at Charleston Lake</a>. As a teenager, I was always up to something crafty there with products of the local landscape: I tried to dye fabric with goldenrod; I thatched a popsicle-stick stable for a Christmas Nativity scene with grass; I made small objects from local clay. However, it's taken me years to amass a canning kit on site. Now that it's installed, I hope this is the first of many jam sessions.<br /><br />Sadly, I arrived at an awkward time in the growing season: before apples, but after most berries, and this isn't much of a peach area, so I had to resort to (oh, the shame!) store-bought fruit rather than something from the local market. Perhaps some year I can get here in July, when raspberries, gooseberries and blueberries are available at the cottage door. (The gooseberry seems to have been a surprise volunteer, possibly courtesy of a passing bird.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sHNPWoxtn2A/VAdL4xLsLnI/AAAAAAAAFQ0/4Za7X_IOH1I/s1600/Close-up%2Bs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sHNPWoxtn2A/VAdL4xLsLnI/AAAAAAAAFQ0/4Za7X_IOH1I/s1600/Close-up%2Bs.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><h4><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></h4><h3 style="text-align: center;">Lookout Lodge Mixed Berry Jam Recipe</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Makes about 10 cups</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>I tried a variation on adding pectin for this, by grating two granny smith apples into the mix to help thicken the jam. It worked well. For a less chunky texture, you could peel them first, but since the blueberries will still have a lot of texture, I think it's fine to include the peels. Also, you could vary the proportions of berries. I was trying to be economical, and good raspberries are very dear; hence the proportions.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>6 cups blueberries (stems removed)</li><li>3 cups strawberries (quartered, with crowns removed)</li><li>2 cups raspberries</li><li>2 Granny Smith apples (grated; &nbsp;peeling is optional.)</li><li>Juice of 1 lemon</li><li>8½ cups sugar</li></ul><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ol><li>Prep the fruit and combine in a non-reactive pot with all the other ingredients.</li><li>Leave to macerate overnight.</li><li>The next day, wash and warm jars and lids.</li><li>Bring mixture to a full rolling boil and cook, stirring frequently, until it reaches the setting point (220°F/104.5°C).</li><li>Ladle or pour into warm jars, leaving ¼" of head room, seal and process in fulling boiling water for at least 10 minutes.</li><li>Cool in the hot-water bath for a few minutes, remove and allow to cool for 12 hours before moving. Refrigerate any jars that have not sealed properly.</li></ol>http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2014/09/mixed-berry-jam-recipe-from-lookout.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-4448177587329281870Wed, 27 Aug 2014 14:45:00 +00002014-08-27T10:45:49.236-04:00Farmers MarketsFood HistoryLocal FoodLiving Food Traditions in Brockville, Ontario<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-woF33Ow2KtY/U_3k_EutEGI/AAAAAAAAFNk/Dlr0dXn6UmY/s1600/Brockville%2BMarket%2Bgladiolas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-woF33Ow2KtY/U_3k_EutEGI/AAAAAAAAFNk/Dlr0dXn6UmY/s1600/Brockville%2BMarket%2Bgladiolas.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My mom grew up in Brockville, a county seat on the St. Lawrence, and we spent summers there between about 1963 and 1968. Recently, a friend asked me where to eat there, and I was puzzled. There are some nice restaurants around town (<a href="http://www.brockberry.com/" target="_blank">The Brockberry</a> is just fine), but my best food memories of Brockville relate to foods that you take home to eat. I have never forgotten the wonderful smell of the hot, paper-wrapped bundles from <a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/242/1448968/restaurant/Ontario/Dons-Fish-Chips-Brockville" target="_blank">Don's Fish and Chips</a>. And then there's the market.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vb9Xrno2XbE/U_3k-KcCQxI/AAAAAAAAFNc/svpFNfIxv10/s1600/Brockville%2BMarket%2BStreet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vb9Xrno2XbE/U_3k-KcCQxI/AAAAAAAAFNc/svpFNfIxv10/s1600/Brockville%2BMarket%2BStreet.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />The&nbsp;<a href="http://www.brockvillefarmersmarket.ca/" target="_blank">Brockville Farmers' Market</a>&nbsp;puts all the Johnny-come-latelies to shame; it's been going steadily for 177 years, 110 of them in the same location on Market Street (above), surrounded by Brockville's characteristic stone buildings and sloping towards the St. Lawrence River a few blocks south.<br /><br />We visited on a Tuesday, so there weren't many vendors. The market also opens on Thursdays, but it's on Saturday that you'll find it bustling, with 50-odd stalls selling fresh local produce, meats, baked goods, honey, flowers and a variety of crafts.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y8zitXyci1w/U_3k_q9mG3I/AAAAAAAAFNo/-rZOHBjCCd4/s1600/Brockville%2BMarket%2Bproduce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y8zitXyci1w/U_3k_q9mG3I/AAAAAAAAFNo/-rZOHBjCCd4/s1600/Brockville%2BMarket%2Bproduce.jpg" height="287" width="400" /></a></div><br />Apart from the plastic tents, if you traded out the contemporary cars for wood-sided station wagons, pickups and small panels trucks, the look would be about the same as it was 50 years ago. I remember my mom buying a bunch of gladiolus like the ones in the top picture for the dining room table in about 1964, when I was so wee that the table was at my eyeline, and the glads seemed like the spires of some towering flowery cathedral. I remember the cookies, and the intriguing honey in the comb.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-czAcGOEU6jA/U_3lAr-ux1I/AAAAAAAAFN0/Z4ztvTTI04k/s1600/Brockville%2BMarket%2Bsamosas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-czAcGOEU6jA/U_3lAr-ux1I/AAAAAAAAFN0/Z4ztvTTI04k/s1600/Brockville%2BMarket%2Bsamosas.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Of course, some things have changed. They didn't used to have samosas, or Thai food, or anything gluten-free. The terms "organic" and "pasture-raised" weren't bandied about, and "Angus" was not yet a selling point for beef. But I'd say more has endured – perhaps for over 150 years – than has died away.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u7urMpqgdo8/U_3lDYtpJ3I/AAAAAAAAFOI/BduHalx-_Iw/s1600/Tait's%2Bcookies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u7urMpqgdo8/U_3lDYtpJ3I/AAAAAAAAFOI/BduHalx-_Iw/s1600/Tait's%2Bcookies.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />Another seemingly immortal staple is <a href="http://www.taitsbakery.net/" target="_blank">Tait's Bakery</a>&nbsp;(31 King Street West), where my mother was sent to buy fresh bread in the 1930s (and remembers nibbling off the corner of the hot loaf on the way home). It's been open in the same location since 1908.<br /><br />These days you can go in and order a deli sandwich to eat in, but for me the attraction is still the fresh bread and the cookies: sugar cookies and shortbread, just like in the '30s, as well as newer items like chocolate chip cookies. I'm particularly partial to the date or raspberry jam turnovers (above).<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9nP1lq21j3U/U_3lBlsWcGI/AAAAAAAAFN8/APrzSXUI5u0/s1600/Superfries%2Btruck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9nP1lq21j3U/U_3lBlsWcGI/AAAAAAAAFN8/APrzSXUI5u0/s1600/Superfries%2Btruck.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And then there are the chip wagons. My family is especially fond of the one in Athens, Ontario, which we think uses beef fat to fry in, but there are several to choose around the district. A new arrival is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/superfrieschips" target="_blank">Superfries</a>&nbsp;(4014 Highway 29), located about 15 minutes north of the 401 as it crosses through Brockville.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Besides a notable, crispy French fry cooked in a blend of pork lard and vegetable oil, Superfries offers Angus burgers and a range of other hipster-pleasing fare. They operate year-round, and they've introduced a "call-ahead" feature, so you could place an order as you approached Brockville on the highway (613-883-5649) and pick it up within minutes off the road.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8ZFB7-ubJTI/U_3lCWzfSTI/AAAAAAAAFOE/nHNz9bNqgiI/s1600/Superfries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8ZFB7-ubJTI/U_3lCWzfSTI/AAAAAAAAFOE/nHNz9bNqgiI/s1600/Superfries.jpg" height="302" width="400" /></a></div><br />There are other local delights, like the <a href="http://www.forfar.com/" target="_blank">Forfar Dairy</a> with its sensational old cheddar, and Willard's Fried Cakes, originating in Athens... but that's probably fodder for a later story.http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2014/08/living-food-traditions-in-brockville.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-1737893650719610115Sun, 17 Aug 2014 20:01:00 +00002014-08-17T16:01:50.830-04:00Farmers MarketsFood EventLocal FoodBaconFest Winners at The Leslieville Farmers' Market<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UeGOCsv79gA/U_ECtpUdzlI/AAAAAAAAFMs/roBpUyXRr1c/s1600/2014%2BBaconFest%2Bwinner%2BSanobel%2BMotiwala%2Bof%2BSweet%2BSammies%2Bblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UeGOCsv79gA/U_ECtpUdzlI/AAAAAAAAFMs/roBpUyXRr1c/s1600/2014%2BBaconFest%2Bwinner%2BSanobel%2BMotiwala%2Bof%2BSweet%2BSammies%2Bblog.jpg" height="640" width="612" /></a></div><br />Today was a big day at&nbsp;<a href="http://leslievillemarket.com/" target="_blank">The Leslieville Farmers' Market</a>, where I volunteer: it was our third annual BaconFest event, dubbed "Return of the Brined Pork Belly", a competition among vendors and local restaurants to come up with the best bacon-themed food offering.<br /><br />The top winner and recipient of the coveted Golden Spatula was Sanober Motiwala of <a href="http://sweetsammies.ca/" target="_blank">Sweet Sammies</a>, who's pictured above holding her prize-winning maple-bacon ice cream sandwich on bacon chocolate-chip cookies, as well as her red velvet ice-cream sandwich..<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yn2NRBx2duk/U_EC0nfvrOI/AAAAAAAAFM8/z-l04F-z2rw/s1600/BaconFest%2B2014%2Blineups.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yn2NRBx2duk/U_EC0nfvrOI/AAAAAAAAFM8/z-l04F-z2rw/s1600/BaconFest%2B2014%2Blineups.jpg" height="400" width="398" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm always amazed how long people are willing to line up at a food booth, but I guess when bacon is involved, all bets are off. I think we hit a new attendance record for the market today, with &nbsp;about 3,000 people in attendance.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-96BES_U-EZk/U_EDiZHBzzI/AAAAAAAAFNM/vvIJddA8-Hs/s1600/Judges%2Bnice%2Bs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-96BES_U-EZk/U_EDiZHBzzI/AAAAAAAAFNM/vvIJddA8-Hs/s1600/Judges%2Bnice%2Bs.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br />Don't the judges look serious? From the left, drinks expert Jamie Drummond of <a href="http://www.goodfoodrevolution.com/" target="_blank">Good Food Revolution</a>, Trevor Benson of <a href="https://ontarioculinary.com/" target="_blank">Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance</a>, culinary travel blogger Ayngelina Brogan of <a href="http://www.baconismagic.ca/about/" target="_blank">Bacon is Magic</a> and shucker extraordinaire Patrick McMurray of <a href="http://www.ceilicottage.com/" target="_blank">The Ceili Cottage</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vIRmG4k78T8/U_EDgkobnGI/AAAAAAAAFNE/VPcnpn82lWY/s1600/winners%2Bannouncement%2Bs.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Here's the announcement of the winners, with bacon flags flying. In the front row, starting from the left, are (with flag) volunteer Corey Power, board members and event organizers Janaki Hadida and Emma Baron (with kale bouquet), market manager Daniel Taylor, judge Jamie Drummond (in plaid) and co-judge Patrick McMurray (announcing the results).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RDeevRKlDbA/U_ECm_Fw82I/AAAAAAAAFMc/wTORtCxiCRM/s1600/2nd%2Bplace%2BCounty%2BGeneral%2Bsmoked%2Bpork%2Bbelly%2Bblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RDeevRKlDbA/U_ECm_Fw82I/AAAAAAAAFMc/wTORtCxiCRM/s1600/2nd%2Bplace%2BCounty%2BGeneral%2Bsmoked%2Bpork%2Bbelly%2Bblog.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br />Second place went to The <a href="http://thecountygeneral.ca/riverside" target="_blank">County General Riverside</a>, with smoked pork belly with bacon-onion jam, Niagara morello cherries soaked in wine and triple-crunch mustard. (The wasp is extra.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jT_tjmdms0M/U_ECoCczNNI/AAAAAAAAFMk/e-K4ik4vsJo/s1600/3rd%2Bplace%2BVoulez%2BVous%2Bsmoked%2Bpork%2Bshoulder%2Bon%2Ba%2Bbun%2Bs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jT_tjmdms0M/U_ECoCczNNI/AAAAAAAAFMk/e-K4ik4vsJo/s1600/3rd%2Bplace%2BVoulez%2BVous%2Bsmoked%2Bpork%2Bshoulder%2Bon%2Ba%2Bbun%2Bs.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />Here's the third-place winner, <a href="http://www.voulezvouscafe.com/" target="_blank">Voulez Vous Cafe</a>'s smoked pork shoulder on a bun with tomato chutney and coleslaw. The cafe on Queen Street East has recently closed, but I gather it will reopen in a new location in the fall.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--2IQyKBfTGA/U_ECv9EiwHI/AAAAAAAAFM0/L3EcBBjfaXM/s1600/Honourable%2BMention%2BYing%2BYing%2BSoy%2BFoods%2Btofu%2Bmushroom%2Bhors%2Bd%2Boeuvres%2Bs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--2IQyKBfTGA/U_ECv9EiwHI/AAAAAAAAFM0/L3EcBBjfaXM/s1600/Honourable%2BMention%2BYing%2BYing%2BSoy%2BFoods%2Btofu%2Bmushroom%2Bhors%2Bd%2Boeuvres%2Bs.jpg" height="397" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />An Honourable Mention went to <a href="http://www.yingyingsoyfood.ca/" target="_blank">Ying Ying Soy Foods</a>' smoked tofu-wrapped mushroom hors d'oeuvres. Because not all bacon comes from pigs!http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2014/08/baconfest-winners-at-leslieville.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-3530287867406001071Tue, 05 Aug 2014 19:50:00 +00002014-08-05T15:55:00.318-04:00RecipesNo-recipe Raspberry-Blueberry Pie in a Hurry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_CYozM-7mAw/U-EyJ285ZOI/AAAAAAAAFMM/mTGG93UFvWE/s1600/Blueberry+pie+2+s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_CYozM-7mAw/U-EyJ285ZOI/AAAAAAAAFMM/mTGG93UFvWE/s1600/Blueberry+pie+2+s.jpg" height="488" width="640" /></a></div><br />I could call this "Blurberry Pie", because I barely remember making it. Here's what happened: I was in the middle of making blueberry jam with six pounds of berries when Jonathan wandered in and asked what I was planning to do with the remaining pound-and-a-half that was still sitting in a bowl on top of the microwave.<br /><br />"I don't know," I responded. "We could eat them. Or we could give them to people. Or I could throw them into some muffins..."<br /><br />"Or pie," he said.<br /><br />"Yes, we could make a pie."<br /><br />"<i>I</i> could make a pie," he said.<br /><br />"Yes," I said. "You could make a pie." Jonathan started to make a pie.<br /><br />"Are you going to make the pie crust?" I asked. Next thing I knew, I had grabbed a knob of lard and a few handfuls of flour and a little sugar and a pinch of salt, and was whomping it together in a stainless steel bowl between stirrings of the jam.<br /><br />"We could make a bigger pie," said Jonathan. So I hauled out a quiche pan and threw in another handful of flour. Jonathan had disappeared by this point (but not until after preheating the oven). I poured a little cold water into the bowl, kneaded the dough a little, rolled it out on my nice marble slab and fitted it into a quiche pan.<br /><br />I stirred the jam a bit.<br /><br />To the berries and (just a little) sugar that Jonathan had left on the counter, I added the red and black raspberries from the freezer that I'd picked in the community garden, a couple of squirts of lemon juice and a dose of cornstarch. I poured it all into the pie crust, cut out a few stars with the dough scraps, popped it into the hot oven and returned to stirring the jam pot.<br /><br />A few moments later, I opened the oven and tossed a few bits of butter on top of the pie.<br /><br />I went back to the jam. An hour later, we had achieved pie and a dozen or so jars of jam.<br /><br />Which is all to say: if you've never made a pie, it's not really a big deal. In fact, you should probably go get some berries and make one right &nbsp;away.http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2014/08/no-recipe-raspberry-blueberry-pie-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-4738908353279468274Mon, 21 Jul 2014 18:04:00 +00002015-02-09T15:12:12.603-05:00Cherry Ripe: Picking and Preserving Cherries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NA2K5_uOum4/U81PWLBHbzI/AAAAAAAAFKo/ClAhMAc1gB8/s1600/Cherries+in+trunk+s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NA2K5_uOum4/U81PWLBHbzI/AAAAAAAAFKo/ClAhMAc1gB8/s1600/Cherries+in+trunk+s.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Since I volunteer &nbsp;for <a href="http://leslievillemarket.com/" target="_blank">my local farmers' market</a>, I had a chance to tag along on a visit to our fruit supplier&nbsp;<a href="http://bizjakfarms.com/" target="_blank">Bizjak Farms</a>&nbsp;last Friday and we got to pick some sweet cherries. Judging by the photo above, is it any wonder that as soon as we opened the trunk to drop off the first person back in the city, two people immediately asked us how much we were selling our cherries for?</div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nnuCxxHJ3-Q/U81PXSif5SI/AAAAAAAAFK4/zcTF5EAYoGE/s1600/cherry+ripe+s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nnuCxxHJ3-Q/U81PXSif5SI/AAAAAAAAFK4/zcTF5EAYoGE/s1600/cherry+ripe+s.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you spot the bee?</td></tr></tbody></table>I got two big beautiful baskets of this gorgeous fruit (which worked out to 15.5 pounds), and spent Saturday pitting cherries. About six pounds went into a crock to become brandied cherries (six pounds pitted and stemmed cherries to three pounds sugar and one whole vanilla pod). We'll be revisiting that in December.<br /><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />Another four pounds went towards Marisa McLellan's <a href="http://foodinjars.com/2014/07/sweet-cherry-chutney/" target="_blank">Sweet Cherry Chutney</a> from her blog Food in Jars. It's a great recipe, but I did tweak it a bit. Instead of one cup of dried cherries, I used dried cranberries. I also slightly increased the quantity of hot red peppers and added&nbsp;¼ teaspoon of ground cloves and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, just to pump up the Christmassy quality of the preserve. The little leftover tester jar is already delicious, and I can tell it's going to be even nicer when it mellows in about ten or twelve weeks.<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vMDXDaxQtos/U81PsTfAJwI/AAAAAAAAFLQ/mleIhbzFgcw/s1600/Milan+Bizjak+demo+s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vMDXDaxQtos/U81PsTfAJwI/AAAAAAAAFLQ/mleIhbzFgcw/s1600/Milan+Bizjak+demo+s.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />Here, market staff and board members Janaki, Daniel and Emma listen to Milan Bizjak talking &nbsp;about the fine points of cherry picking. He and his family manage two separate farms, producing raspberries, peaches, plums and several varieties of apples.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wMsNRnVdIR0/U81PYl4YYsI/AAAAAAAAFLA/9A4yh9QScOQ/s1600/emma+with+cherry+fingers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wMsNRnVdIR0/U81PYl4YYsI/AAAAAAAAFLA/9A4yh9QScOQ/s1600/emma+with+cherry+fingers.jpg" height="400" width="323" /></a></div><br />Emma flashes a seriously cherry-stained salute. Geeky fact: cherry juice reacts like litmus paper according to pH level. So if you wash your cherry-stained hands with (base) soap, the juice will turn dark indigo, and your nails will look dirty. Instead, wash with vinegar or lemon juice (or rub your fingers with lemon peel). The acid will turn the juice pink, and it won't show. However, the next time you use soap, the cherry stains will reappear.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--dHbJWTZiVg/U81PWzWMJMI/AAAAAAAAFKs/BqvDbhFL1-g/s1600/Cherry+pick+done+s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--dHbJWTZiVg/U81PWzWMJMI/AAAAAAAAFKs/BqvDbhFL1-g/s1600/Cherry+pick+done+s.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here, the crew heads back to the truck after a great day.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Have I had enough of cherries for the week? No, it turns out: I have seven pounds of sour Morello cherries macerating for jam as we speak!</div>http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2014/07/cherry-ripe-picking-and-preserving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-1678357967593606076Tue, 24 Jun 2014 00:20:00 +00002014-06-23T20:20:46.894-04:00RecipesAunt Ellen's Rhubarb Cake Recipe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sy-Rg2wH6Pc/U6jAbogS56I/AAAAAAAAFJY/DVuJRV-CFLs/s1600/Rhubarb+cake+s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sy-Rg2wH6Pc/U6jAbogS56I/AAAAAAAAFJY/DVuJRV-CFLs/s1600/Rhubarb+cake+s.jpg" height="506" width="640" /></a></div><br />I have previously released the secrets of Jonathan's mom's delicious <a href="http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2010/05/recipe-for-rhubarb-squares.html?q=rhubarb" target="_blank">Rhubarb Squares</a>&nbsp;(pictured above, right). Since it's the season again, here's his aunt Ellen's wonderful, simple, rich rhubarb cake (left). Thanks to my wonderful neighbours for the rhubarb, which all grew within a few blocks of my house!<br /><br />RHUBARB CAKE<br /><br /><b>Ingredients</b><br /><br /><ul><li>1½ cups of brown sugar</li><li>½ cup margarine or butter</li><li>2 eggs</li><li>1 tsp vanilla</li><li>2 cups all-purpose flour</li><li>1 tsp baking soda</li><li>¼ tsp salt</li><li>¾ cup buttermilk</li><li>1 cup rhubarb, washed and diced</li></ul><br /><i>For topping:&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><ul><li>¼ cup sugar</li><li>1 tsp cinnamon</li></ul><div><b>Instructions</b></div><br /><br /><ol><li>Preheat oven to 350° F (177° C)</li><li>Grease a 9" x 12" pan.</li><li>In a &nbsp;large bowl, beat sugar, margarine (or butter) and eggs briskly for about four minutes. (It will get very thick and creamy.)</li><li>Add the vanilla and combine.</li><li>In a &nbsp;separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together well.</li><li>Add the dry to the wet ingredients in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk.</li><li>Add the rhubarb and combine.</li><li>Pour into the pan and smooth out the surface.</li><li>Bake about 30-40 minutes, until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out dry.</li><li>When the cake &nbsp;is done, spread the topping over it and allow it to cool well before slicing.</li></ol>http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2014/06/aunt-ellens-rhubarb-cake-recipe.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-6160293077455995809Fri, 20 Jun 2014 17:06:00 +00002014-08-14T10:42:06.667-04:00Books About FoodLocal FoodThe Boreal Feast: A Cookbook for Midsummer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SfYPPG0pLaw/U6RhZVxbKxI/AAAAAAAAFJA/aeBhlKAsQPk/s1600/Thin+Bread.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SfYPPG0pLaw/U6RhZVxbKxI/AAAAAAAAFJA/aeBhlKAsQPk/s1600/Thin+Bread.JPG" height="418" width="640" /></a></div><br />In many northern countries, Midsummer is a big deal, celebrated at outdoor parties with perhaps as much enthusiasm as its counterpart, Yule, at the other end of the calendar. In Canada, we don't make such a big deal about the Summer Solstice (which falls tomorrow, by the way), except in Quebec, where it's thinly disguised as St-Jean Baptiste Day. But all northerners must feel the bittersweet pleasure of the longest day of the year, knowing that even though the first fresh fruits and vegetables have only just sprung from the ground, the days are already growing shorter again.<br /><br />No better time to pick up a copy of the just-released&nbsp;<i><a href="http://www.harbourpublishing.com/title/BorealFeast" target="_blank">The Boreal Feast, A culinary journey through the North</a></i> by Yukon author, chef and forager Michele Genest. This is her second book, and it's just the sort of thing I like: a dreamy musing on the seasonal cycles of northern culture with lots to read about her travels in Sweden, Norway and Finland, along with plenty of recipes for mains, starters, baking and preserves.<br /><br />This is the turf where foraging meets fine dining – and in fact, one of Genest's chapters describes her visit to Fäviken Magasinet, the restaurant of chef Magnus Nilsson of the book <i>Fäviken</i>, where she gave him some birch syrup, which his colleague Johan Agrell promptly used in place of molasses in a batch of traditional kolakakor cookies.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gqdekVRMKBI/U6RhvFg76TI/AAAAAAAAFJI/LJjAevL4zSA/s1600/boreal+feast+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gqdekVRMKBI/U6RhvFg76TI/AAAAAAAAFJI/LJjAevL4zSA/s1600/boreal+feast+cover.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div><br />In <i>The Boreal Feast</i>, you'll find recipes that use birch syrup, lingonberries, serviceberries, cranberries, spruce tips, honey, fish, game meats, wild mushrooms, lichen and other forageable foods. But as the cover photo (Morel Crusted Bison Shortribs with a big buttery scoop of saffron-flavoured potatoes) suggests, this is hardly subsistence fare. There's salmon roe and t<span style="text-align: center;">ourtière, borscht, pulla and crab legs in herbed butter. All, it seems, served with a dollop of cream. (This is a feast, after all!)</span><br /><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></div><br />Last night I tried the recipe called Håkan Särnåker's Thin Bread and brought it with fig jam, plum-walnut conserve and goat cheese to a gathering of cooks, who all said they loved its complex nutty flavour, redolent with anise, juniper, fennel and a variety of seeds. Included as a variant of the type of flatbread served at Fäviken Magasinet, it was simple to make and gives me one more thing to do with my treasured stock of juniper berries from the cottage.<br /><br />As you can tell, I really like this book a lot. If you're intrigued by the sound of it and you live near Toronto, Michele Genest is presenting a free talk and book signing at <a href="http://www.benmcnallybooks.com/" target="_blank">Ben McNally Books</a> (336 Bay Street) this coming Monday, June 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. I hear there'll be some snacks from the book.http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2014/06/the-boreal-feast-cookbook-for-midsummer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-6853820909629208332Fri, 06 Jun 2014 02:15:00 +00002014-06-05T22:15:57.003-04:00Food EventLocal FoodOntario Craft Cider Week #loveONTfood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O1xylyliawk/U5EaVBajvnI/AAAAAAAAFIQ/qOJOkh_OGi4/s1600/Cider+samples+s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O1xylyliawk/U5EaVBajvnI/AAAAAAAAFIQ/qOJOkh_OGi4/s1600/Cider+samples+s.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br />If you know of my ongoing fascination with local apple varieties, you may not be too surprised to discover that I'm a big cider fan. Perhaps I come by &nbsp;it honestly; "hard" cider was moderately popular in Montreal while I was growing up there, and could be bought in big brown jugs at the corner store for a small cash outlay. It must be said that it was not especially good; however, it did prepare me to appreciate the better stuff when it started to turn up in Ontario.<br /><br />It's a bit surprising that Ontarians as a society don't already have a strong predilection for cider, given that we produce wonderful apples, as good as or better than those grown anywhere else. But things are changing. Today on the annual farm tour organized by <a href="http://www.farmfoodcare.org/" target="_blank">Farm and Food Care Ontario</a>, I had a chance to eat lunch with cidermaker Nick Sutcliffe of <a href="http://pommies.com/" target="_blank">Pommies</a>, chair of the newish, 16-member Ontario Craft Cider Association, about the developing industry and the first-ever&nbsp;Ontario Craft Cider Week.<br /><br />From Sutcliffe I discovered that cider sales in Ontario have grown by 60% in each of the past two years. At this rate, by 2018, 10% of the province's apples will be going into cider, which could by that date be a $35-million industry.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1PIkA_wIens/U5EaT8a-sCI/AAAAAAAAFIE/i1mlpiJoZY8/s1600/Cider+Pommies+s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1PIkA_wIens/U5EaT8a-sCI/AAAAAAAAFIE/i1mlpiJoZY8/s1600/Cider+Pommies+s.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />One of the extra bonuses of this growth is that it could make it more feasible for apple growers to continue to produce some of the apple varieties that aren't so popular in the grocery store. For instance Sutcliffe's yummy Pommies (above) is made with five types of apples: Spy, Ida Red, Gala, Empire and Russet. While excellent as an eating apple, the humble Russet isn't as attractive in the chain-store bin as the comparatively less tasty Red Delicious, so it's being phased out. I gather Pommies alone provides enough of a market to save at least a few trees!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b4INzOt5z8Q/U5EaU29EKZI/AAAAAAAAFIM/MrF59akc_s4/s1600/Cider+Spirit+Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b4INzOt5z8Q/U5EaU29EKZI/AAAAAAAAFIM/MrF59akc_s4/s1600/Cider+Spirit+Tree.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This week the OCCA is celebrating its inaugural&nbsp;<a href="http://ontariocraftcider.com/cider-week-2014/" target="_blank">Ontario Craft Cider Week</a>, and generating huge lineups of people anxious to taste bevvies like <a href="http://www.spirittreecider.com/" target="_blank">Spirit Tree Estate Cidery</a>'s Draught Cider (above), <a href="http://www.puddicombecider.com/" target="_blank">Puddicombe Cider's</a> Sir Isaac Brock (actually a perry, not a cider, as it's made from pears), or artisanal pleasures like <a href="http://westavenue.ca/" target="_blank">West Avenue Cider</a>'s various offerings.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Two formal events remain: a pig roast and tasting seminar at <a href="http://www.theonlycafe.com/" target="_blank">The Only Cafe</a> (972 Danforth Avenue) from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, June 6, and a sold-out event at <a href="http://barvolo.com/" target="_blank">BarVolo</a> (587 Yonge Street) on Saturday, June 7, which will apparently admit non-ticket holders after 9 p.m. I imagine it will be hard to get into either event. The good news? It seems Ontario ciders are going to be around for a good long time after the week is over.</div>http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2014/06/ontario-craft-cider-week-loveontfood.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-5962001274529142019Sun, 27 Apr 2014 15:00:00 +00002014-04-27T11:00:19.317-04:00Food HistoryAdventures in a 100-year-old Food Factory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ubHChioTcAI/U10TOw4vUYI/AAAAAAAAFG8/s8f3fu2yk7k/s1600/Blog+Imperial+Extract+Bldg+electrical+panel+1s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ubHChioTcAI/U10TOw4vUYI/AAAAAAAAFG8/s8f3fu2yk7k/s1600/Blog+Imperial+Extract+Bldg+electrical+panel+1s.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In aid of my ongoing research into Toronto's Shirriff food company (famous for marmalade, potato flakes, hockey coins, puddings and pie fillings), I did a little bit of urban exploring yesterday. You see, I'm giving an <a href="http://riverdalehistoricalsociety.com/2014/04/07/sarah-hood-on-frances-shirriff-and-the-canadian-dinner-table/" target="_blank">illustrated lecture this coming Tuesday, April 29</a> for the Riverdale Historical Society (you should come!), and I thought I should take some pictures of the buildings where the business (officially known as the Imperial Extract Company) operated.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z9OByRkY8_Q/U10TOehBcZI/AAAAAAAAFGw/AgNjTig32RQ/s1600/Blog+49+Front+Street+East+s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z9OByRkY8_Q/U10TOehBcZI/AAAAAAAAFGw/AgNjTig32RQ/s1600/Blog+49+Front+Street+East+s.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I know where they worked because I've done searches through the city directories at the Toronto Archives. For example, this is 49 Front Street East. In 1889, Imperial Extract was using the upper floor.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DeDRiN6aSvs/U10XCsOSUiI/AAAAAAAAFHk/SaMb5b_xgdQ/s1600/Goads+fire+insurance+map+1924+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DeDRiN6aSvs/U10XCsOSUiI/AAAAAAAAFHk/SaMb5b_xgdQ/s1600/Goads+fire+insurance+map+1924+(3).jpg" height="327" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But in 1909, as you can see from &nbsp;this <a href="http://goadstoronto.blogspot.ca/2013/01/1924-toronto-fire-insurance-map.html" target="_blank">1924 Goad's Fire Insurance Map</a>, Imperial Extract Co. commissioned a new building on vacant land at 12-18 Matilda Street, at the corner of what is now called Carroll Street (formerly Steiner), just north of Queen on the eastern slope of the Don Valley. Valued at $20,000, it was originally owned by Francis Shirriff, Sr., his sons Frank and William, and their business partner William Bright.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The building initially housed not only Imperial Extract, but also two wine business, all of which were co-owned by Shirriff and Bright. In 1911, perhaps as part of the financing arrangements for the new building, the Shirriffs sold out all their shares in the wine company. Thomas Bright ran Bright's Wines in Niagara for another 23 years; it would eventually become the biggest wine company in Canada.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XIdBB2Pt-qE/U10TQ6FTMnI/AAAAAAAAFHQ/xbb3QF_3rhQ/s1600/Blog+Imperial+Extract+s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XIdBB2Pt-qE/U10TQ6FTMnI/AAAAAAAAFHQ/xbb3QF_3rhQ/s1600/Blog+Imperial+Extract+s.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />The Imperial Extract building was designed by Charles Herbert Acton Bond of Bond &amp; Smith, who designed quite a few important commercial and industrial buildings in Toronto; in the same year he built the Imperial Extract building, Bond also designed the William Davies Building for the meat company that eventually became Maple Leaf, which still stands on Front Street at Frederick.<br /><br />The Imperial Extract building is also still standing (above), but it’s showing its age. It no longer has an entrance onto Matilda Street; the south wall may once have had a door, but if so, it's been bricked up, and the building has been subdivided to house a collection of small businesses.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lfnkjWjg-o0/U10TO62HLmI/AAAAAAAAFG0/rCzpYNImdwU/s1600/Blog+Imperial+Extract+Bldg+electrical+panel+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lfnkjWjg-o0/U10TO62HLmI/AAAAAAAAFG0/rCzpYNImdwU/s1600/Blog+Imperial+Extract+Bldg+electrical+panel+2.jpg" height="400" width="305" /></a></div><br />While I was taking pictures of the exterior, I thought I'd see whether there's anything left inside to tell the Shirriff story. So I ventured in through the loading dock. There wasn't much to see on the ground floor, so I looked for a staircase, found one, and decided to head for the basement.<br /><br />There I found a very helpful occupant of the building who led me to an electrical room (I did briefly wonder whether I was about to be murdered), and showed me the electrical panel (top photo). At first, I was just interested in the panel itself, which does look original to the building. Then he drew my attention to the most exciting thing: carefully hand-stencilled letters noting which machines were powered by which units. The one above says "2ND. FLOOR / LEMMON PIE MACHINE".<br /><br />It gives you a really good idea of the extent of the operation, and what types of specialized equipment the company was using.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xPUUtNm9NHg/U10TPyk1yrI/AAAAAAAAFHI/f-1MMm0cFPk/s1600/Blog+Imperial+Extract+Bldg+electrical+panel+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xPUUtNm9NHg/U10TPyk1yrI/AAAAAAAAFHI/f-1MMm0cFPk/s1600/Blog+Imperial+Extract+Bldg+electrical+panel+5.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;This is the best one. Note the labels that read:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">PIE FILLER</div><div style="text-align: center;">NO 13. CONVEYOR</div><div style="text-align: center;">PEEL SHREDDER</div><div style="text-align: center;">NO. 1 PULPER</div><div style="text-align: center;">NO 2. PULPER</div><div style="text-align: center;">ORANGE CONVEYOR</div><div style="text-align: center;">NO 10. CAPPER</div><div style="text-align: center;">CHERRY CHOPPER</div><div style="text-align: center;">FANS S.W. WALL</div><br />There's not much else to show that this was once the headquarters of a business that would end up operating in three countries (they had a big manufacturing section in Jamaica), but these labels, which may be over 100 years old, tell the story as well as any historical plaque.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uIBr54UH_0k/U10TRcEpW8I/AAAAAAAAFHU/zg6gcD7ST-8/s1600/Blog+Sign+in+Imperial+Extract+Bldg+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uIBr54UH_0k/U10TRcEpW8I/AAAAAAAAFHU/zg6gcD7ST-8/s1600/Blog+Sign+in+Imperial+Extract+Bldg+2.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />Did I obey this sign? Well I did, but only because there was a padlock on the door. Otherwise, who knows what might have been lying there to be discovered?http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2014/04/adventures-in-100-year-old-food-factory.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-4422070379461775615Mon, 24 Feb 2014 16:55:00 +00002014-02-25T20:07:09.764-05:00Books About FoodA Tribute to Alison Fryer and the Cookbook Store<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1KY8SFIZW4/Uwt0lTNzLFI/AAAAAAAAFGM/1zhqUOoqSJE/s1600/ramsay_fryer_josephson0209.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1KY8SFIZW4/Uwt0lTNzLFI/AAAAAAAAFGM/1zhqUOoqSJE/s320/ramsay_fryer_josephson0209.jpg" height="308" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the <a href="http://www.cook-book.com/cbs_tv/gordon_ramsay0209.html" target="_blank">Cookbook Store</a>, with permission.</td></tr></tbody></table>About 15 years ago I decided I wanted to learn how to make jam properly, so I did the only sensible thing: I popped into The Cookbook Store on Yonge Street and asked Alison Fryer what book I should buy. She recommended a book then titled <i>Put a Lid on It!</i> (currently in its second revised edition by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard as&nbsp;<i><a href="http://he%20complete%20book%20of%20small-batch%20preserving%20by%20ellie%20topp%20and%20margaret%20howard/" target="_blank">The Complete Book of Small-batch Preserving</a></i>.) On the strength of Alison's knowledge, I was able not only to learn how, but eventually to become known as the author of my own jam book.<br /><br />After 30 years in business, Alison has announced she's closing the shop. When I think of all the books she's introduced people to, all the authors she's supported and hosted in public events, I can barely imagine the devastating loss to our cooking and food writing culture that this represents.<br /><br />It's shocking to think that this is likely her last week in business (and, by the way, she's offering 25% off all books and 10% off all magazines while they last, but if you're not going to be there today, you should call them at 416-920-2665 to find out whether the doors are still open!)<br /><br />As an author, I know Alison has been behind me all the way, even bravely trooping down with a trunkfull of heavy books to my rainy outdoor launch for the jam book. She has promoted my book online and in the shop, and she was there when I was nominated for the Taste Canada food writing award. Now, consider that I am only one among the many scores of authors she's made it her personal mission to promote.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7xHHL6MZP9Q" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />In Toronto, as elsewhere, it's been a bad millennium for independent bookstores, with the demise of Pages on Queen, Toronto Women's Bookstore, Nicholas Hoare on Front and This Ain't the Rosedale Library, among others, and, most recently, the announced departures of Book City in the Annex, Steven Temple, and even the World's Biggest. Clearly, the status of the paper book over the next two centuries is going to be very different than it has been over the past two.<br /><br />I'm not entirely downcast, however. I think there will always be a desire for some writing on paper, and that perhaps we're merely seeing a return to an earlier arrangement when only the people who were quite serious about their studies in art, history, literature and so on actually read printed books, with online communication taking the place of oral culture. But printed books have been good for literacy and good for writers, so there are risks to giving them up.<br /><br />And, you may say, we'll still have online booksellers and (presumably) at least a few big-box stores. But it won't be the same. These are well suited to contribute to the proliferation of populist, mass-market books, but not so well adapted to small-scale publishing and niche books.<br /><br />Without going into the soul-crushing details of the returns system, suffice it to say that big-box bookstores promote products. Independent bookshops sell books. I'm personally grateful to Alison for her dedication to the literature of food, and I know that her absence from the scene will leave a big hole of events that never happen, people who never meet each other, books that never reach their readers... and inquisitive types who never learn how to make jam. Thanks, Alison!http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2014/02/a-tribute-to-alison-fryer-and-cookbook.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377931131460981347.post-8920413633780974034Sun, 23 Feb 2014 05:56:00 +00002014-02-24T18:30:15.834-05:00Food EventFood HistoryFood TastingMad for Marmalade Competition Winners<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nMfXUWZ4jT8/UwmKWwfquHI/AAAAAAAAFFw/mV6rhawbhw4/s1600/Mad+for+Marmalade+2014+judging.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nMfXUWZ4jT8/UwmKWwfquHI/AAAAAAAAFFw/mV6rhawbhw4/s1600/Mad+for+Marmalade+2014+judging.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br />It's all over but the sugar hangovers: another great edition of <a href="http://culinaryhistorians.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/2014-M4M-Program-Registration-Form.pdf" target="_blank">Mad for Marmalade, Crazy for Citrus</a>, a creation of Fort York and the Culinary Historians of Canada that celebrates all things citrus.<br /><br />This is the first year I've helped judge the competitions, and I had a good time with food stylist <a href="http://vengeo.ca/sandrawatson" target="_blank">Sandra Watson</a> analysing the finer points of the pure Seville orange entries. It's amazing how different each one was, considering that they all consisted of the same three ingredients.<br /><br />Here's the lowdown on the winners, who went home with $25 cash (First Prize), a copy of <i><a href="http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2013/11/setting-fine-table-new-book-of-fort.html" target="_blank">Setting a Fine Table</a></i> (Second Prize) and/or an elegant Emile Henry lasagna dish (Best in Show). These are unofficial results, gathered from participants while I await confirmation; I apologize in advance if I've included any errors.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8rB52brfls4/UwmKWqmeMkI/AAAAAAAAFFs/Kt_zF9I_Wfo/s1600/Mad+for+Marm+2014+Seville+entries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8rB52brfls4/UwmKWqmeMkI/AAAAAAAAFFs/Kt_zF9I_Wfo/s1600/Mad+for+Marm+2014+Seville+entries.jpg" height="327" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clearly, very serious judging going on here.</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Pure Seville Orange Marmalade</b><br /><ol><li>First-time marmalade-maker Cecilia Mucio, using a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.canadianliving.com/food/classic_seville_orange_marmalade.php" target="_blank"><i>Canadian Living</i> recipe</a>. (Her mother, Mary Mucio, won the Honourable Mention!)</li><li>Patrick Forbes</li></ol><b>Citrus Marmalade</b><br /><ol><li>Patrick Forbes (Lemon-Seville Orange Marmalade) – also named Best in Show</li><li>Peter Myers (Grapefruit-Orange Marmalade)</li><li>Susanne Tabur</li></ol><b>Citrus Combination Preserves</b><br /><ol><li>Mary Ann Slowka's Orange Chocolate Marmalade (Mary Ann's on a bit of a roll; she also won the <a href="http://www.feastoffields.org/index.html" target="_blank">Feast of Fields</a> recipe competition last summer with her Coronation Grape and Peanut Butter Pie, not to mention most overall points and Best of Show at the Acton Fall Fair.)</li><li>Seville Orange Mango Marmalade by Grace Bellamy</li><li>Jean Sterritt's Peach Marmalade</li></ol><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UDSrkbEvRUk/UwmKVkCYApI/AAAAAAAAFFk/5j5JjfUhiko/s1600/M4M+2014+winning+cheesecake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UDSrkbEvRUk/UwmKVkCYApI/AAAAAAAAFFk/5j5JjfUhiko/s1600/M4M+2014+winning+cheesecake.jpg" height="488" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what First Prize-winning marmalade baking looks like.</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Baking with Marmalade</b><br />This category was so close, it "came down to the quality of the candied peel," said judge Julian Sleath. I tried all the entries, and I'm glad I wasn't judging this section, as they were all delicious!<br /><ol><li>Diane Vachon's Marmalade Cheesecake</li><li>Mary Ann Slowka's Almond Marmalade Cake</li><li>Honourable Mention: Mary Mucio's Marmalade Roll</li></ol>Christine Manning of <a href="http://www.manningcanning.com/" target="_blank">Manning Canning</a> took an award in the professional preserves category for her Herbed Seville Orange Marmalade with onions and garlic.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0eWKXcWuiw/UwmKXWAy71I/AAAAAAAAFF8/yWl2WTusxao/s1600/Mary+Ann+cake+s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0eWKXcWuiw/UwmKXWAy71I/AAAAAAAAFF8/yWl2WTusxao/s1600/Mary+Ann+cake+s.jpg" height="296" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Ann's way-too-yummy cake, stuffed with almonds and topped with (I think) a cream-cheese frosting.</td></tr></tbody></table>http://www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com/2014/02/mad-for-marmalade-competition-winners.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah B Hood)2